


Jungle Madness

by Mateko



Category: Fandom (Anthropomorphic), Furry (Fandom), No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Animals, Anthro, Anthropomorphic, Bird, Buffalo, Fox - Freeform, Furry, Multi, Panda - Freeform, Peacock, animal - Freeform, crocodile - Freeform, furry fandom, furryfandom, gorilla, lioness, original - Freeform, original book, originalbook, originalstory, owl - Freeform, reptile - Freeform, swan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-05-04 19:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 50,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14599836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mateko/pseuds/Mateko
Summary: This is a story about Nova, a 15 years old panda, son of a panda and an ice bear. He's a mixed species that inherited both his parents traits, mostly from his father, leaving only his paws and feet white.He lived his entire childhood in this small city called Grofield. His life was pretty quiet but what would you expect from a young boy? He was alright, surrounded by good friends and loved by his family. After his first year of high school his father earns a promotion in another city where he can guarantee a better financial support for his beloved ones but this new job won't allow his father to come back home anymore, reason why they decide to move out towards the city of Manard.It's a hard hit for Nova. He, not only lived his entire life in that city, but also did his first year of high school. The new friends he made, his childhood friends, getting used to the new place nothing mattered anymore. Nova was forced to start anew, to reset completely and even if he accepted it still hurt him deeply.The main story starts with his new life in this big city and his father's desire to subscribe his son to this prestigious school named Wonder Phoenix that practice a new discipline called Jungle Madness.





	1. Prologue - Get the gold

A panda, laying face down on a pillow, was resting, sealed inside his room ruled by darkness. A small ray of light penetrated through the curtains landing right on his white feet, the only part of his body left unprotected by his brown sheets.

The quiet atmosphere abruptly faded when the phone on his shelf vibrated, waking the bear up.

A grunt of disappointment was the first response as he extended his paw towards the smartphone. After missing it a few times, he successfully grasped it in his paw.

The panda twisted his body around, now staring at the ceiling, turned on the screen only to squint at the strong light emanating from it. Once adjusted, he scrolled through his apps and found a new message from his ex-classmate, Cody.

A nostalgic vibe overwhelmed him as he read the message.

“Hey Nova! How's it going there? I miss you a lot, the entire class misses you a lot. It's hard to get used to it. I'm sure you're having a hard time as well, right? Moving out and stuff. You gotta tell me everything! I wanna know more about Manard City.”

“Hey Cody…”

“What's up? You sound depressed. Am I right?”

“Kinda…”

“Where are you now? I wish I could just run to your house but…yeah. Now you live somewhere else.”

“I'm laying in bed.”

“You serious? It's 4 PM. You're not that type of guy! Don't let this new situation overwhelm you, okay?”

“I'm trying…”

“No you're not! You've always been full energy. Get up from bed and get going.”

“I need five minutes.”

“Alright, but just five. There's something I wanna show you.”

Nova's phone vibrated again, showing a photo of him, Cody and his entire class during their last day together.

“...”

“I…hope it didn't make you feel worse.”

“I miss my life, Cody.”

“I know, but it's not the end. You gotta keep movin’ dude! I'm sure you'll make more friends in your new school. Just don't forget about me!”

“Today me and dad will checkout the school.”

“That means you finished moving out then?”

“Yes, we just finished yesterday. It was a mess…”

“Don't be scared to start anew. I know my childhood friend very well. As soon as you see your new life you won't understand why you were feeling down.”

“I guess you're right. I'll see you later okay?”

“Sure dude! Keep me updated.”

Nova turned off the screen, and the phone fell to the bed. On the outside, since he would never complain to his family, the panda just accepted the change. He didn't want to start a new one. He liked what he had before. 

Suddenly, the light conquered the darkness. 

While lost in thought, his mother had walked inside and opened the curtains.

"Nova, I called you! Didn't you hear me?"

His gaze drifted from the ceiling to the polar bear wearing a blue shirt and black pants before mumbling back some sort of answer as his mother removed the sheets as well.

"I'm gonna kick you out of bed next. Come on, get up. You’ve slept enough."

"I need five minutes."

"You've been saying that since this morning dear. I'm not trusting you again."

Nova stretched his arms, yawned a few times and sat on the bed. His green pajamas were inside out with its label right in front of his lips.

"Oh Nova... You’ve done it again." His mother laughed, sitting next to him. “You okay? You started acting like this the minute we left our hometown.”

“Maybe? I don't know…” He questioned himself as he pulled off his shirt.

“I wanted to tell you that we appreciate what you did. I didn't expect that news either and you didn't complain.”

"Why would I do that?" He shrugged. "I saw how happy he was and how important that job was for the family."

"So I was thinking that you deserve something. You know, you've been such a good son and I wanna help you get used to this new city."

"It's okay mom. I don't really need anything.” He stood up and brushed off his pants. “Keep the money for something important."

"You are important. Dad moved here because he wants to provide the best for you and for me."

"I know,” he sighed, picking at his brown leather jacket. “I miss my friends though. It's not like I've stayed there for a year. I grew up in that city; with you, dad and Cody."

"I also miss Cassandra,” she admitted, handing him his red belt and blue pants. “Someday, probably on the weekend, I promise we'll go visit them."

A glimpse of surprise showed upon his face. "Really?"

"Yes, I promise,” she said, standing up. “We could go there next month but you've gotta give me a warm smile and try out the school, okay?"

A joyful smile spread across his features. "Thanks mom."

The panda dressed up, placed his phone inside a pocket and headed downstairs, leaving his mother behind to clean his room.

He opened the first door on his left to find a brand new shining bathroom that had already been cleaned. His expression twisted in horror upon seeing his own image in the mirror.

“Oh wow, I'm a hot mess.”

His appearance portrayed that he had woken up at five am and worked for twelve hours straight with no time to rest. His hair didn't help either; each strand seeming to move in different directions despite the lack of hair on his head compared to the rest of his body.

“Nova! Are you the one in the bathroom? Come here!” A deep, frantic voice called from another room.

“Dad give me a second I just woke up!” He yelled back, washing his hands and face.

The water that he splashed on his face landed everywhere, forcing him to take a towel to dry the white sink.

“Okay, coming!” He hurried outside after finally confirming that he at least looked presentable.

At a jog, Nova reached the dining hall where his father, a panda, had just finished reading a journal sitting on his loved red armchair.

“Morning dad,” he yawned.

“It's kinda late for that son but it doesn't matter now. I was looking at a journal and I found this!” He exclaimed, handing it to him.

The panda reluctantly accepted it to read.

“Wonder Phoenix officially opened one year ago and its popularity increased instantly, obtaining the title of dream school. They offer a promising future and the work most suited for them to every admitted student.”

Nova lowered the paper and stared back at his father utterly confused. “It sounds…weird?”

“What do you mean weird? This school is exactly what we were looking for!”

He raised an eyebrow, more perplexed than before. 

“We?”

“Isn't it amazing? A school that not only provides basic culture and knowledge but also offers the best suited job for you!” He explained, ignoring his son's question.

“Dad…I don't know about this. The school must be expensive if they offer it to every student.”

“That's not a problem Nova. My new work pays well. I could commit to extra days if that means ensuring you a great future.”

“Yeah… I don't feel pressured at all now.” He scratched his arm.

“You just gotta study as always. Were you bad at school?”

“Well, no, but I wasn't really the best.”

“Then it's settled. We're going to visit this school and see what they have to offer. I really want to know what they do there.”

“I feel like we'll go all the way there for nothing. From what I've read, the school must be private. I don't think they will accept me.”

“If they don't we leave. I just want to check it out…”

“You don't like when things don't go your way dad…” He mumbled back, lowering his volume.

“It's a school! What could go wrong?” He beamed.

Nova, defeated by his childish behavior, accepted wasting extra time to pursue his father's illusion. On the other hand, the bigger panda seemed convinced that he could stuff his son inside the prestigious school with no problems.

The younger panda took some money to carry along and watched his father happily hum around the house as he picked up the keys and some documents that belonged to Nova.

His father hurried outside to prepare the car while the panda stood there, staring at the journal now laying on the table. If they were going to that place might as well take it along. As much as he didn't really care whether the school would welcome him or not, what he read was interesting...and his curiosity won him over.

“I'M COMING! STOP!” He yelled, scared by the sudden sound of a car horn.

“Bye Nova!” His mom called from upstairs.

“Bye mom!” He replied back, hurrying to the car.

When he walked outside his dad was repeatedly honking, staring at him with the happiest smile glued to his face. Nova rolled his eyes and reached for the door of the black car covered in dust.

“You should wash your car dad,” he said, hoping to sway the conversation and calm him down.

“I can't find any time to do it…” He grunted, turning the radio on. “Some dumb kid also wrote ‘wash me’ on my side.”

A smile threatened to blossom on his face. “It could've been worse.”

“I guess…” He dismissively replied, starting the engine.

The scenery around them twisted and changed quickly. Nova was surprised that his dad seemed already so confident in which road to take.

“Do you know where this school is?” 

“Yes, it's thirty minutes from home. It would be amazing to get you there. I can carry you to school and instantly go to my workplace. It's not that far from where you are.”

His ears twitched in surprise, “Oh really?”

“Another good motive to get you in.”

Nova took out the article again. In the end, his proposal didn't sound that bad. The schools will always be the same no matter where he went.

“The most promising work…” He whispered back, looking for the place where he stopped reading to continue.

“This school created a new modernized approach to the old conception of knowledge dispenser we know nowadays. Their methods and secrets are still private, only an accepted student has the right to use them. We tried to have an interview with the headmistress Yvonne but she dodged all of our questions. The only topic we were allowed to ask about is this new discipline they're developing called Jungle Madness. We didn't get any detailed information but we're sure that something big is coming next year and we can't wait for the moment they will finally open up to the general public."

Nova stopped to focus on that photo of the headmistress placed on the left of that article. She was wearing a grey jacket and black pants. That lioness looked graceful yet extremely professional and intimidating.

“Yvonne offered us a quick tour around the building and we're serious when we say that this school is huge and prepared for everything. We can't provide any pictures because they took away everything that could've snapped an image. We were able to see some students in their daily lives at the high school and asked their opinions. They all replied positively and confirmed us that they were truly training for what they wanted to be in life and not only focusing on learning the usual programs commissioned by the law.”

The Wonder Phoenix high school seemed great on paper, promising and absolutely a fantastic place to attend to but were they telling the truth? Was this place really good how they said? The basic programs were already hard and overwhelming as they were he couldn't believe that the students attending this place were able to move freely and focus on their passions without any kind of obstacle.

Thoughts about the school, what will happen and how his father will react were bouncing back and forth in his head. He closed the journal, pulled out his headphones and, after plugging them inside the phone, he started to listening to soothing music to calm down the storm of thoughts in his mind.

~•~•~•~•~•~

“Nova. Nova! Hey wake up!”

The panda felt his headphones being pulled out of his ears and the figure of his father standing outside was the first image he saw when he opened his eyes.

“Huh…?” He wasn't able to gather words that he yawned, “Did we arrive?”

“Yes we did. I just parked the car. Let's go.” The older panda explained, leading the way towards the school.

Nova stood up, closed the car and waited for his father to lock it then he put back everything inside his pockets and followed his father through the main gate.

The name lived up to that place. Phoenix statues and decorations were hanging around that closed metal gate with only the intercom sticking out on the left. Voices of students were clearly audible in the distance, there must've been some sort of club activity not so far from where they were. Judging from the time school lessons should've been already over.

“Yes? Who's there?”

The voice of a middle aged man reached our ears that shaken them in surprise when they perceived the aggressiveness in his manners. It felt like they weren't welcomed there right from the get go.

“Good afternoon sir! I'd like to meet the headmistress.”

Nova's father cleared his throat, pushed away that first bad impression and faked a polite answer that didn't match what he really wanted to say.

The intercom went silent after his answer and nothing happened for a few minutes, enough time to start questioning if they were actually going to let us in but, weirdly enough, the gate unlocked right before his dad was going to ring twice.

“Wait in front of the door.”

The voice spoke up again, mildly annoyed and bored. It seemed the reaction of someone who didn't want to deal with a thing that repetitively was coming back only to torture him.

The older panda casually walked through, as if everything was perfectly fine and all of those warning signals were a mere coincidence. Nova couldn't argue, he just had to deal with it, reluctantly following his old man.

The garden left Nova breathless. Statues made out of big bushes represented animals of every kind and shape. The level of details in their poses and clothes were extraordinary. Those six statues were strategically placed all around the center of that area; A Phoenix fountain.

“Wow…” Nova commented out loud, looking at that Phoenix, portrayed in the last moments before taking off. The water poured from her mouth and her claws.

“Seems more like a five star hotel than a school…” His father said, turning back to his son now that he reached the famous door.

“Dad you should turn around…”

Nova silently pointed at the buffalo standing behind him. His black attire was extremely elegant and professional, maybe too much for a school environment.

“What is the purpose of your visit here?”

He gently asked to the bigger panda, but focusing somewhere else or, to be more clear, on someone else.

Nova was feeling extremely uncomfortable and out of place. He knew that this guy was staring at him, analyzing his white paws. That one small thing made him different and he hated it.

“I want to enroll my son here.”

“The auditions are closed.” He coldly replied, “Your son can try next summer.”

The buffalo didn't wait for a response that instantly went back inside and closed the door.

“No, wait!” Nova's father grabbed just at the last second the door shoving his paw inside.

The animal noticed that he could've hurt himself and loosened the door, but he didn't seem very interested to change his mind.

“All the slots are taken. I do not have the power or the authority to insert your son.”

He explained, stepping back.

“Then let me talk with the headmistress. I won't cause any trouble…”

The buffalo breathed out, a small smoke came out of his nose that quickly faded away. His pitiful scene worked out somehow as he rolled his eyes, hinting to follow him inside.

“See? We can do this.” He whispered at his son that didn't reply, trying to contain the embarrassment.

The office must've been deeper inside the school, allowing the two pandas to have a quick glance around the building where nothing out of the ordinary caught their attention. It perfectly resembled a common school. If there was more, the best places must've been where visitors can't go.

Nova saw something else though. The students that they met on their way were quite unusual. They weren't necessarily wearing the school uniform. Some of them were using some weren't. They all looked different and unique by their body shapes, accessories and mostly from what they were carrying with them. He didn't see one guy having a small bag or holding books of some sort. He saw a guy holding a guitar, another one carrying a toolbox and even an animal with bow and arrow on his back.

His eyes were scouting the entire place except for the place where they should've been, bumping into a gorilla that was minding his own businesses.

“I-I'm sorry!” The panda apologized, patting his head.

“Don't worry small friend, Reggie didn't feel anything.”

His Australian accent resonated through the hallway, impressing the young panda for having students from another country.

“Let Reggie help you.” He said, lending his hand and putting Nova back to his feet.

The black gorilla just stood there, making the thing awkward and confusing for him. His father and the buffalo also stopped but he didn't realize it right away because he fell.

“This is her office.” The buffalo said, announcing it with a bored voice, “make it fast and leave. I have things to attend to.”

He walked away, leaving them with that gorilla who was now ignoring them, as if he was busy doing something.

“I'm really lost…” Nova commented scratching his head, “Are you just going to stand there?”

The gorilla simply moved his eyes back to the panda, “Reggie is a bodyguard. That's what Reggie does to earn his credits.”

Nova wanted to know more but his father grabbed his paw and pulled him in. The gorilla closed the door when they went through and resumed his job.

A lioness, wearing a brown leather jacket, purple shirt and black pants was gracefully writing on a book when two pandas barged suddenly in front of her causing more than one question to raise in her head.

“Good afternoon! Are you the headmistress?” His father questioned, taking a seat without asking for permission beforehand.

The lioness stared at them through her glasses, “Yes, I am.”

“Great!” He replied, excited.

Nova, instead, stood there. She didn't allow them to sit and he felt like it could've been perceived as rude and the situation wasn't the best.

“Son what are you doing there? Sit! There is a chair next to me.”

Despite his invite Nova didn't move until his father forced him to sit by dragging his paws out of the pockets. He was hiding them to not obtain another awkward scenario in which he was now because of his stubborn father.

“Please state your business.” She said, placing her paws together. Her tone showed an hint of interest towards the panda.

“My son wants to enroll in your school so I brought him here.”

Nova blinked in surprise when he heard that. He didn't care whether he would go here or not. His father pressured him with something he couldn't refuse.

“I-I yes, I'd like to…” He added with a submissive voice.

The lioness quickly glanced at them, “Is your son a mixed species?”

“Oh, that.” His father blushed, scratching his head, “My wife is a polar bear.”

“Interesting.” She said, “What's your name?”

“Nova…”

“Alright, Nova. I'm willing to offer you a place in my school, but you must prove that you're meant to be in this school.”

“Prove…?” He tilted his head, confused and scared.

“Give me his documents.” She asked, extending her paws towards his father.

Nova's father pulled out a few pieces of paper from his jacket and handed them over.

“...average.” She relented, skimming through the text, “Tell me something you can do.”

“Something I can do?” The panda remarked, oblivious.

“An hobby, a passion, an interest, you have one, right?”

“Well… I don't know. Nothing comes to mind.”

“A job? An aspiration? What do you want to do?”

“...” Nova tilted his head in silence. He felt ashamed of not being able to reply.

“What's the point of asking those questions?” His father chimed in, seeing his son in trouble, “He's still young, not everyone knows what they wanna do or their passion! It's subjective!”

“I never mentioned anything related to that.” She cut him off, “But, if you want the truth, panda I don't see any real reason as to why I should take him in. This school is an important place for whoever knows what they want to do with their lives and I work to make their dream possible. My students would feel offended by my decision to enroll a panda that knows nothing. How am I supposed to help him if he has no idea of his future? He kept quiet even for the easiest question.”

“We just transferred! He must feel confused and lost! He is a second year, there is still a lot of time to find a suitable path! I don't want to force him.”

“If you don't want to force him maybe you should reconsider the idea of trying to enrolling him here without his consent.”

His father widened his eyes and turned to Nova who moved them further away.

“I am his father. I know that this school can be a good thing for him. In here he could find that path, I'm sure of it. That's why I'm trying my hardest to get him in here.”

“Believe in him. He has to take his choices and walk through the road he wants.” She returned the documents, “The auditions are open every summer. I'll be glad to test him personally next year.”

“But he can-"

“Dad…” Nova placed his paw on his shoulder, “Can we go now? You promised.”

“She's making a mistake. You're good enough for this school!”

The lioness walked them out all the way back outside, despite Nova's father complains and attempts to change her mind nothing happened. The gorilla, under the headmistress request, grabbed the stubborn parent and dropped him outside, back to the gate.

“No, no don't worry I'll walk on my own!” The younger panda shook his paw, worried.

“Reggie hopes he can see panda again next summer! Bye!” The animal locked the gate and waved at the pandas as they moved away.

“Reggie how many times should I tell you that a bodyguard mustn't be friendly with every person they meet.” She sighed, cleaning her glasses.

“Me really sorry I just liked the small guy. He seemed cool.”

“I can't deny that I felt something similar but rules are rules, also he wasn't ready yet. I hope he will find that something special we all strive towards to.”

\-----------

Utter silence surrounded the two pandas, sitting inside the car. Nova's father was visibly upset, crossing arms while Nova showed off opposite feelings, staring at his feet, demoralized.

“Why didn't you say anything?”

“I'm sorry.”

“... I need a cigarette.” He bursted out of the car, “Do you want me to bring you something to eat?”

“Actually this time I'd like to take a walk…” Nova replied joining him.

“Alright.”

They were walking around the school building, looking for a place to sit and rest for a while. His father opened a small box that contained several cigarettes.

“Mom told you to stop smoking…” Nova said, glancing at him with one already inside his mouth.

“Isabelle tells me a lot of things. Marvin don't do that, Marvin don't do this, Marvin please stop. Right now I need to relax because I messed up…” He replied, pulling out the lighter.

He stopped and placed his paws around that small flame, trying to keeping it alive.

“Of course it had to be running out of fuel…” Marvin sighed, disappointed.

Nova wandered around the place while his father was fighting against his lighter. Lured by the voices of students he tried to get as close as possible until he met another gate.

“You don't need to feel guilty.” Marvin said, patting the head of the smaller panda shoved between the columns, “I'll bring you to the public school.”

“WATCH OUT!”

A young female voice shouted towards the two pandas but her warning came later than the danger itself.

“NOVA! HEY! LOOK AT ME!” Marvin visibly worried, pulled his phone out and called for help.

“It's ok, put it down I'll help him!”

\------------

“It was just a ball.”

“It's embarrassing that someone as big got knocked out.”

“Trust me that hit was strong, I'm surprised that the guy endured it pretty good.”

“What do you mean you won't do anything about it?!”

“He stuffed his head through. It's not my business.”

“Please don't argue, I'm giving him first aid.”

“He looks alright, I mean… he's a panda if you hurt his face he turns into a black bear.”

“That's not funny.”

“Oh come on it was a good one.”

“Guys the panda's waking up! Come!”

Everything was still blurry as he slowly recovered consciousness bombarded by countless voices that were talking at each other. Nova mumbled some grunts of pain as he touched his head.

“You ok? I bandaged your forehead just to be sure but you can remove it if you want.”

He raised his body from the bench they placed him and glanced around, surrounded by several animals.

“Where am I?”

The closest one, a swan with long feathers, helped him stand, “You're in the gym area, we brought you here after the ball got you…”

“The princess looks fine, it must've been the work of his beauty sleep.” A beaver giggled, sitting on his legs.

“Natalie I told you to go easy on him…” The bird scolded, moving her away.

A lady fox walked through the crowd, stopped in front of the panda and kneeled down, “Please forgive me! I'm ashamed of myself. The thing I've done to you is horrible, ask me everything you want and I'll do it!”

Nova raised an eyebrow, confused for the fifth time. It must've been normal to feel like that in such weird environment, “I-I'm alright! Please stand up… I feel bad for you.”

“Oh my god I'm making you feel worse?! I can't apologize properly, I'm sorry I'm sorry!”

She kept bowing relentlessly until the swan stopped her for good, “Fan! Stop it! He said he forgives you, right?”

“Uh… yeah! Please no more.”

“You guys are so nice I don't deserve it…”

She fell on her knees, tears falling down her snout.

“You guys are making such a mess. It's over. He's alright. Resume the game already!” The beaver commented, annoyed.

“We can't continue unless Mrs. Peacock says otherwise…” The bird explained, looking at the panda, “Your father seemed pretty mad, I bet they are quarreling inside. You should go to him and calm him down…”

“I'll bring him there!” the fox proposed, “I must apologize somehow!”

“Sure… thanks for your help.”

The fox was quite smaller compared to the panda and she couldn't wrap him around her shoulders but she refused to let him walk by himself, forcing him to take at least her paw.

“Hey… uh… you don't have to…” He said, blushing.

“No, no, no I help you. What's wrong with your face? Do you have a fever or something?!”

“No! I'm just… disoriented, yeah. I don't know what's going on anymore.”

“You're an outsider from what I heard, that must be the reason. In here things work a bit different and I can't tell you much about it, when I enrolled here last year I felt like you.”

She walked him through the entire area. They were playing basketball and his sudden appearance froze everything. He quickly explored the surroundings, seeing every kind of animal waiting for him to go away. There was a crocodile sitting on the roof of a small locker room with an owl next to him. Nothing weird that made them stood out, the crocodile was the one holding his murder weapon.

If he ignored the fact that everyone in the area was staring at him then yes, nothing wrong.

Fan stopped in front of the stairs, finally freeing Nova's paw.

“They're inside.”

Nova didn't need a confirmation because, unfortunately, Marvin's shouts were reaching him through the blurred glass, followed by the screams of a woman. They weren't having a friendly conversation and the thought of stepping in intimidated him, but he couldn't refuse like Fan. He was the source of that mess.

“Hello… excuse me.” He said, pushing the door open.

Marvin instantly went silent and hugged his son, “Oh Nova, thank god you're ok!”

“Dad it's alright but don't squeeze me too hard, nothing happened. I fainted for a few minutes, let's just leave…”

“You're fine, that's great but it doesn't delete what happened.”

A fancy peacock walked closer, her white dress covered in black dots matched her white body dyed in a shining orange, “The guy said it himself. We offered you help to get him back on his feet. What do you want now?”

“I don't know… would be nice to have him frequent this school in exchange.” Marvin proposed with a smug on his face.

“Are you kidding me? I should enroll a random guy my student hit when he was trespassing a private area”, she nodded, mocking him, “sounds fair.”

"Audition him then! I heard the headmistress talking about some sort of test! You owe that to him for what happened!”

The peacock rolled her eyes, annoyed “Will you get out of my sight if I do?”

“Yes! Just give him a chance!”

Nova sighed, exhausted by everything that happened so far. He didn't know how to feel. Whether he should still accept what his father is doing or eventually step up stopping this. He hinted a positive answer but the panda was reaching his limits.

“Perfect. Let me quickly check if there is a slot available for us…” The peacock swiftly opened her smartphone, tapping repeatedly on it, “You're lucky. Seems like we can do this right here and now!”

“...huh?” 

Nova watched as she extended her small wing towards him, “Take it and say that you challenge me.”

“What…?”

“Just do it.”

Nova reluctantly grabbed her wing, “I-I challenge you.” He blushed, shaking it slowly up and down.

“You can let me go now.”

“AH! Sorry!”

“This is going to be fun.” She smirked under her beak, finishing her preparations.

“A Jungle Madness with high priority will soon begin in the northwest section of the school. Place of the challenge : Gym. Dianne Peacock will be in charge this time as judge and challenged. The challenger is… an OUTSIDER?!”

Someone through a speaker started to talk about something related to the panda but he didn't really follow what was going on, until the voice cracked in surprise at the end and the entire school shaken down at its core. It was the only signal he was able to grasp; what was happening was something out of the ordinary, for what their definition of ordinary could be.

“Please follow me back to the place where they were playing basketball. That's the place of your challenge.” She said, swapping her smartphone with a remote.

There wasn't a description to explain how lost he felt when he walked outside. The students that were there tripled in a few seconds and the numbers keep growing. They all gathered there as if a show was about to start, making him feel pressured.

“What's going on…?” Nova cried out.

“It would be too long to explain.” Dianne replied, clicking on the remote, “Just wait for the challenge, win it if you can and then maybe you'll get some answers.”

“Hey panda!” The fox ran at him, “I heard the speakers talking about you! Don't tell me you challenged her please I beg you!”

“I-I have no idea what are you talking about!”

“Ok, did she ask you to take her wing and say I challenge you?”

Nova slowly nodded, making the fox going insane.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE CHALLENGED A TEACHER!”

“CAN YOU STOP TELLING ME THINGS I CAN'T UNDERSTAND?!”

“BASICALLY SHE CAN DECIDE THE CHALLENGE IF YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ASKS HER!”

“... is it bad or?”

“OF COURSE IT IS. SHE HAS THE ADVANTAGE TO MAKE YOU DO EVERYTHING SHE WANTS AND-"

“FAN SHUT UP RIGHT NOW.” Dianne walked at her and slapped the fox with her feathers, “That's enough otherwise you'll end up helping him. You're forbidden to say more.”

“Well…” She patted his shoulder, “Try to do your best ok? I'll be watching you from my seat.”

“Thank you?” Nova, to prevent his mind from blowing up, accepted to go with the flow until the moment his facade definitely crumbled and wasn't going to come back.

The basketball area disappeared, the terrain morphed right in front of his eyes. The open area it was now became some sort of arena. All the students, teachers and whoever was inside the school filled every seat. The ceiling appeared, covering the sky and dropping down weird platforms. They were floating in the air thanks to a chain that balanced them out. It looked like a huge spiral staircase but extremely unstable to whatever will touch them.

“Dad…”

“Nova it's ok you can do this! It doesn't look that bad.”

“Attention everyone!” Dianne spoke through a microphone, allowing everyone to listen to her speech, “Today we have a special event! An outsider challenged me, a teacher! He got caught up into an accident in the middle of my substitution lesson and he requested me to offer him a chance to be enrolled here as official student. What do you all think? Does it sound fair?”

The audience replied with several, countless comments and all of them were negative. Nova felt their eyes on him. They wanted to hurt him if they had the chance.

“That damn bird is turning everyone against my son.” Marvin said, munching his thumb, “Don't let her get through you. It's going to be alright.”

“Yeah…”

“If I win instead they will simply leave, because I was at fault when the young panda was trespassing inside a private space where it wasn't meant for him.”

Her words completely controlled and charmed the crowd that turned furious towards the young guy.

“The challenge is easy, panda. I don't want to be mean, Fan already hurt you good.”

Dianne took a golden medal out of a shelf, handed it over to a bird. He flew all the way to the top, dropping it on the highest platform of the course.

“You have to get that medal in… ten minutes. If you manage to do it on time I will consider your request and discuss the matter with the other professors and the headmistress.”

Nova looked up, intimidated by that huge tower, he knew she wasn't going easy.

“LET'S BEGIN!” She shouted after an assistant brought her the remote to turn on a big screen that depicted the time limit.

“JUNGLE…”

She began.

“MADNESS!”

Everyone finished her sentence and she started the challenge.

Nova stood there, silent, while all around him cheers, growls and shouts of all kinds were unleashing. He wanted to leave, now he was sure of it.

“Son what are you doing?! Climb!”

Marvin's motivation worsened his desire to start but no matter what he said he had to try.

Nova touched the closest platform that wiggled on contact. He firmly grasped it, trying to climbing it but his body wasn't really elastic. His leg couldn't raise high enough to get over it.

People were laughing at his pitiful attempt, making him a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

“I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE OK?!” His white face went red as he attempted to jump on the platform instead of climbing it slowly.

It slipped away from him and he landed face first into the ground.

“8 MINUTES LEFT ON THE SCREEN!” Dianne reminded the crowd, mostly to humiliate the panda.

Nova turned around, still on the ground, staring the ceiling with a defeated expression.

“You can do this! Don't give up.”

His chill attitude and patience towards his father was now long gone and his feelings rushed out.

“Shut up! You've done enough for today.”

Marvin backed away, caught off guard by that remark.

“Can't you see that she tricked us? How am I supposed to do this?! I'm not the athletic type. She wanted to teach you a lesson and I'm paying for you. Didn't you hear what the headmistress said? I did. I've been always doing what you want from the first moment you told us to move into the city. I-I'm trying to accepting it but it's not easy for me you know! I'm tired and you keep going after what you want. Sometimes I feel like you don't care at all about me. I don't care about which school I'll go and you don't either! The only thing you care about is that this school is closer to your damn workplace! I can walk myself to school, if that's your big problem!”

The panda curled into a ball, tears dropping down his face, “I can't take this anymore…”

The school went quiet. No one was talking, only the noise of the timer that kept going no matter what they were doing.

Marvin approached his son and sat next to him, “Hey…”

Nova sobbed harder as he went closer.

“Don't cry…” He said, swiping the dust from his face with a handkerchief.

“...I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to say what I said.”

“I know. I know everything, but it hurts more when you say it.”

The older panda placed his paw on his son's hair and gently patted them.

“I know I didn't make the best choices… I just wanted to give you and mom a better life. We weren't living on the best conditions inside that apartment, we deserved a real house to call home. I'm sorry I couldn't protect your life, but please don't say that I don't care about you. I-I really love you, you and your mom are, like, the best things in my life. Me working all day, killing myself to earn money I don't care as long as you two are happy. I know my son perfectly and… this place, this school… this is where you belong. If there is a place where you can shine and find yourself this is the one. I'm sorry if it seemed like I took advantage of that accident. I saw you depressed, stuck, you weren't able to move on and inside a public school where nobody cares about you... well… I knew you weren't going to make it alone. I can only be your father and you needed a different type of support. You have potential, you can do everything you put your mind to. You just need to believe in yourself and I wanted to give you that little push. I'm sorry.”

“Dad…”

“I'm proud of you. I will always be proud of you. No matter the situation.”

“... thank you.”

“We can end it here. I messed up enough for today.”

“No, no… let me try again. I-I wanna do it! For you.”

Nova hinted a smile as he took the handkerchief from Marvin's paw. He cleaned himself and slowly stood up again.

The crowd, completely focused on the panda, reacted with a huge round of applause for him, the speech touched them.

“YOU CAN DO IT!”

“GO GET THE GOLD!”

“THAT WAS AMAZING DUDE!”

Various voice shouted louder than the others, making only the strongest ones to go through the mess.

“HEY IDIOT! REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN PULL THE PLATFORMS TOWARDS YOU, THEY'RE ELASTIC!”

A familiar voice suggested him from the crowd. He recognized the beaver's voice but he couldn't find her among the seats, too many animals.

“You know it wasn't necessary to call him an idiot Natalie…” The fox crossed her arms.

The swan smirked, “Natalie actually wanted to help him out though.”

“I don't know what are you talking about.” She blushed, pretending the opposite, “I'm just trying to make the challenge a bit more interesting.”

Nova blushed, not expecting such support from everyone. Her advice was helpful because he didn't know it was possible. The chains looked sturdy and fixed that only swinging them around could've been possible.

The panda grabbed it again and dragged it down. Now it was close enough for him to get up the platform.

“FIVE MINUTES LEFT.”

Nova climbed only the first one and he was having trouble balancing on it. He was scared to lose control over it and fall down again.

“NOVA! NOVA! NOVA!”

The crowd started a mass cheer that energized the panda to give it his all.

Nova grasped the chain around his paws and used it to drag is body up. He pushed himself in and out, turning the platform into some sort of swing. He continued until the next platform was within his reach, grabbing it again with his paw he lowered it and moved to the next one.

It was extremely tiring for someone who never practiced before, he wasn't even halfway there.

“FOUR MINUTES LEFT"

He really wanted to win now, he made up his mind but it was too late. There wasn't enough time for him to climb the entire tower, not at the speed he was going. He needed to climb eight more platforms and he was standing on the second one, breathless.

“It doesn't matter son!” Marvin shouted, placing his paws around his mouth, “Go where you can! Don't force yourself!”

Nova smiled down at his father, waving his paw to agree with what he said. He almost fell down for doing that. He hugged the chain, terrified to lose his progress.

The crowd was absorbed the entire time, led by the empathy they developed for that little panda. They awed in suspense whenever he was close to fall and cheered when he successfully climbed another step towards his victory.

“ONE MINUTE LEFT.”

Nova checked again. He did half of the challenge. He wasn't going to make it. He smiled, looking at all the animals who glanced away. They saw defeat in his eyes and they didn't like it.

“It's ok. Now I know. I have a reason for coming back next summer so… everyone. Wait for me, ok?”

Silence returned once again, until the bouncing of a ball broke it.

They all moved their heads towards the source, Nova included. It was that crocodile he saw before, still holding the ball from when he interrupted their game.

He stood up from his seat, grabbed the ball and jumped. He spun around, hitting the ball mid air with its tail. The impact generated by that attack was extremely powerful.

The ball flew way over him, hitting the platform that contained the medal. The platform swirled strong enough that the medal fell down, landing on the platform next to the panda.

Nova blinked, surprised of what just occurred, questioning the validity of said action.

“Take the gold panda.” The crocodile commented, going back to his place.

“... 30 SECONDS LEFT.”

This time Dianne sounded shaken up in her reminder. It meant that what he did was possible. It was weird in his eyes but maybe there was a reasoning behind it that he couldn't understand.

The panda, now exhausted, pushed through his limits and climbed the sixth platform that now contained the medal.

The timer said twenty seconds left. He did it, kinda. He just needed to grab it.

… 

Nova froze in place. His past was still holding him back. His old life that he loved so much, taking that medal meant a new beginning, another story and mostly cutting away what he's done in the past. He hesitated, unsure of what he wanted.

In that moment his phone vibrated again.

There wasn't time to check on it. It was a reminder that nothing was going to change. His friends were still there, his life was just taking another weird road but that didn't mean abandoning his old life and most important the memories he made with them.

Screams, growls and howls spread from every direction when Nova grasped the medal in his paw and showed it to everyone.

“Does it mean I won?” The panda genuinely asked, unsure of what will happen now.

The owl that was next to the crocodile flew towards him and helped him get off there.

“Thanks…”

“Don't mention it. Prepare for the worst…” He said, returning to his friend.

The timer stopped with ten seconds left. Dianne hurried there, visibly upset, shouting at the two pandas, “This challenge won’t be considered. You were meant to get up there and get the medal. Getting help from a student uninvolved in the matter is against the rules. I will not give you what you requested me because you cheated.”

Marvin stepped in between and started to argue again with the teacher. Nova, too tired to say something, sat on the ground and rested. Whatever the outcome was going to be he didn’t mind anymore.

The crocodile jumped down the spectator seats, walked past Nova and reached the two that instantly stopped what they were doing by the threatening aura the animal released.

“The contestants are allowed to do everything they want in order to satisfy the winning condition. Extra rules must be discussed before the challenge starts.”

He said, glaring dead in the eyes of his teacher.

“This is what a Jungle Madness is all about.”

Dianne stepped backwards, intimidated by his figure, even if he didn’t sound aggressive towards her.

“You are not allowed to interfere with my work as teacher!”

“Enough.”

The headmistress walked through the mess along with the other teachers and the gorilla. Marvin was now the one who walked backwards, scared to see her reaction.

“This entire situation is an anomaly. The outsider wasn’t supposed to take part in a Jungle Madness and worse, to win it. We have witnessed the entire developing and I cannot confirm what Dianne proposed you. This Jungle Madness is over. All the students must resume their daily activities, the ones who were working here please take a break and go back inside. I need to solve this matter at once and it will be a private one.”  
Yvonne, with professionality, waited until the gym fully emptied.

“Rox, even if you’re a guardian, this order includes you too.”

“My class is running short of one student. Remember that.” He said, walking away.

“As I was saying… this matter will be discussed among the teachers and we will decide a course of action. There is no guarantee that we will enroll your student but I must say that what happened today intrigued me. I’d like to have your address and number, Marvin. In the next days you will receive a letter with our final judgement.”

The older panda cautiously walked towards the headmistress, who stared back at him with an annoyed expression carefully hidden behind her professional attitude.

Nova took a deep breath and laid on the dirt, picked his phone and checked the notification he wasn’t able to see before.

“So? How did it go?”

“... you have no idea.”

“I’m getting curios now! Come on. Don’t spare me any detail.”

“Trust me, it’s better if I just call you.”

“Awesome. I’ll be waiting then.”

“Tomorrow, Cody. Tomorrow.”


	2. Matter of trust

Nova, tapping continuously at his phone, was waiting inside the kitchen for his mother, Isabelle, to cook breakfast.

 

“Morning dear,” the polar bear greeted while preparing the table. “What do you want for breakfast today?”

 

Since the day they had settled in their new house, the panda never truly had a real breakfast with his mom and dad. Marvin never woke up in time. Pandas weren't morning people and Nova wasn't in the best shape to care about getting out of bed.

 

Yesterday's events helped him to move on a bit. Despite his looks he didn't have the same curse his father carried. In his blood coursed polar bear genes.

 

“I'm not really hungry mom. I'll take a cup of milk and some coffee,” he yawned.

 

His mother, upon hearing his reply, slammed an empty tray on the table violently. The sound it made conveyed her disagreement and bottled rage perfectly hidden behind a happy expression.

 

“I-I mean I could go for a toast,” he stuttered, “Why not!”

 

“That's a nice idea sweetheart.” Isabelle nodded, gracefully placing plates and utensils next to her son.

 

Nova shivered. If there was one thing he couldn't stand up to it was Mom's wrath. She must have it her way, otherwise you'll suffer.

 

“Nova, could you go upstairs and wake Marvin up? I really want to have some quality family time now that you feel better.”

 

The panda knew that it wasn't a request; her courtesy and gentle manner couldn't hide the simple fact that it was an order.

 

“I'll try…” He sighed, dropping the phone.

 

When Nova opened the bedroom door an obnoxious sound welcomed him. Marvin, occupying the entirety of a king sized bed, was snoring out loud, destroying the ears of whoever dared to enter.

 

“How mom survives this every day? Out of my comprehension.” He blinked confused.

 

“Love and earplugs dear!” She shouted from downstairs. “And sometimes a broom.” The bear chuckled.

 

The younger panda poked his father that seemed like he had never slept in weeks.

 

“Dad…wake up.”

 

Marvin rolled over, now snoring directly in his face. The poor victim covered his ears but it felt like an earthquake just hit him.

 

“No wonder Mom punches you…”

 

Nearing the end of his patience, Nova pulled away the sheets and attempted to push him out...to no avail. Marvin was too big and heavy to be moved around and didn't seem to care about being completely exposed to the outside.

 

“Oh come on… Don't force me to go into mom mode.”

 

“Nova! Did you do it? Food is almost done here!”

 

“I'm trying! I don't know what to do!”

 

“If you don't want to hit him use the emergency supplies!”

 

Nova rose a brow in confusion. “What about the eating together part?”

 

“Oh please, you know that those are not enough for him. Give him a taste and he'll run downstairs even hungrier.”

 

“Okay, so…where did you put them?”

 

“There is a key under the lamp. Open the drawer.”

 

Following Isabelle’s instructions, Nova found a plate filled with homemade candies. The sickly sweet smell of sugar and syrup didn’t waft out until he unlocked it.

 

“Oh, I remember these candies…” He said taking one from the dish.

 

It had a white gummy texture that he couldn’t keep in his paw as it started to melt, sticking to his fur.

 

“I hope you’re using a handkerchief!” She shouted.

 

Nova's eyes widened.

 

“OF COURSE!” He panicked, shoving the candy down his throat. “Tasty though.” 

 

The panda took another one, this time safely protected, and returned everything where it was before.

 

“Dad! Wake up! Look at this!”

 

When positioning the candy under Marvin’s nose, the unconscious bear took a deep sniff as a wide pleasured smile began to form. He didn’t fully wake up, yet his mouth opened to eat the candy.

 

“You wish!” The son laughed, stepping backwards.

 

The lethargic panda kept sleeping, unaffected by the situation.

 

“I guess I gotta try harder.”

 

Nova repeated the same action several times until his father finally showed a sign of waking up.

 

“What are you doing with that?” He yawned, oblivious to their previous proceedings. “Wait…is that Isabelle’s special candy?” The older continued, already drooling.

 

“Oh…you recognize this small treat?” He grinned. “Maybe…”

 

“Give it to me!” Marvin extended his paw to get it but Novahad already started sprinting downstairs. “HEY! COME BACK HERE!”

 

In a few moments the formerly weak and sleepy panda burst out of bed to chase after him.

 

Nova waited at the kitchen’s entrance, candy in paw, and swallowed it as soon as his father showed up with a smugly satisfied expression painted on his face.

 

Dramatically falling to his knees, the beast roared in anguish, “NO! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! THOSE ARE MY FAVORITES!” 

 

Isabelle giggled in the background, “Maybe I’ll give you one later; that is, if you’re a good boy.”

 

The younger panda turned around, leaving his defeated enemy on the floor.

 

“Ehm…Mom?”

 

Nova's eyes widened, pointing a shaky finger to the table he left empty five minutes ago.

 

“Yes dear, what is it?” She smiled, pretending that everything was perfectly alright.

 

“You know that I can't eat this much, right?” He remarked, sitting back at his place.

 

“But I've made such small portions. I hate wasting food, so try to force yourself a bit…”

 

She was mocking him, judging by the incredible amount of food that appeared in front of him. His parents sitting across the table were barely visible through the piles of pastries and beverages: milk, coffee, bread, candies, cookies and a cake right in the center.

 

“I think you should revisit your opinion on small portions Mom.”

 

Marvin jumped between them, inspecting the table carefully. “BUT WHERE ARE YOUR SPECIAL GUMMIES!? HOW DID HE GET THEM?!”

 

“Oh dear, you know that those are off-limits for everyone. My mother would never allow me to cook those on a daily basis.”

 

Marvin sighed, sitting at the table. “Give me a slice of that cake then…”

 

“Okay Mom, serious talk now…” Nova began, pouring himself a cup of milk, and coffee. “If you like making sweets and cakes why don’t you look for a job?”

 

“Actually I was thinking about it.” She handed the cake to her husband. “Working in a bakery has always been a dream of mine I put aside…”

 

“You have talent hon,” Marvin spoke, mouth full. “I would hire you instantly.”

 

“You have Grandma's secret recipe too. Isn’t it a bonus or something?” Nova carefully took a cookie from the mess hoping not to cause an avalanche.

 

“I'm not sure…” She sighed, taking a pastry. “A job takes time. Marvin works almost full time and I want to stay around to keep Nova from feeling lonely.”

 

“I'll be fine," the son opposed. “I don't want to be the one that drags you down.”

 

“Oh dear, you're so cute.” She smiled, “I promise I'll think about it in the future, okay? We just transferred; let's all get used to the new city first.”

 

“Your mom won't need to work as long since I'm here to take care of you two!”

 

Nova rolled his eyes while dodging the leftovers Marvin discarded everywhere.

 

“Shouldn't you be going to work now?” He asked, checking the time.

 

“Huh?” The panda looked at his son's screen, eyes widening in disbelief. “FUCK! IT'S ALREADY THIS LATE.”

 

Isabelle stood up and handed him the biggest lunchbox he had ever seen.

 

“Mom…are those?”

 

“Leftovers from our breakfast in case he wants a snack and a small lunch.”

 

The package clearly contained more food than it was able to carry. Opening it meant triggering a food bomb.

 

“Okay, you really need to change adjectives.”

 

“Nova do you need a lift?” He asked, hurrying to change clothes.

 

“They said we'll receive a letter or something. I guess for now I need to wait.”

 

“Don't worry Marvin. I'll go with him in case he needs a lift.”

 

“Perfect. I gotta go. See you tonight hon, Nova.”

 

The panda kissed his wife and rushed outside.

 

“Hey Mom, if Dad takes the car how will you take me there?” Nova asked.

 

She froze. “Oops, I forgot about that.”

 

Words couldn't escape the panda's mouth before a loud crash from outside captured their attention where Marvin just headed.

 

“I wonder what he destroyed this time…” Nova sighed walking away.

 

“Please tell me that the small dog statue I bought is still in one piece,” Isabelle prayed, following her son.

 

Nova didn't expect his father to run over someone, at least not this soon and right outside their door. The two were still on the ground as they slowly got back up. Judging by how far they were and that Marvin was crushing the poor animal they must've rolled a bit before their run stopped.

 

Isabelle went to assist her husband that was having trouble standing while Nova, ignoring how hilarious the scene was, helped the stranger instead.

 

“I'm sorry for my father," he apologized. “He can be quite careless…”

 

“I can see that.” The canine brushed dust and dirt off his body.

 

The panda took a few seconds to look at him. It was a black wolf, presumably around his age, dressed in dark clothes.

 

What really caught his attention were his eyes; two different colors. He heard it's a condition called heterochromia, but he has never seen one before. The right eye was red and the left was black; quite the scary appearance.

 

“Marvin, you okay? Do you want a cookie to refresh yourself?”

 

His ears perked up. “Well…maybe one.”

 

“Dad.” Nova narrowed his eyes, “You should go to work.”

 

He sighed, “Yeah, I know…”

 

Isabelle accompanied her husband towards the car leaving the young boys behind.

 

“So uh…who are you? What brings you here?” The panda reluctantly questioned the wolf. He seemed indifferent and that red eye was sorta intimidating. 

 

In response, the canine opened his jacket and pulled out a white letter sealed with a Phoenix emblem.

 

“Are you some sort of mailman that works in the school? Is this for me?” he questioned, not knowing what else he should expect from that place, and quickly snatched the envelope from his paws.

 

The panda opened the letter and pulled the content out while peering at him once more.[a][b] The wolf standing as still a statue bothered him. Nova tried to shake off the feeling, took a deep breath and started to read.

 

Dear Nova,

 

On behalf of the Wonder Phoenix High School, Yvonne, headmistress and leader of the school, have finally come to a decision after a challenging assembly with professors and staff members.

 

After witnessing the last day, we have decided that you will be granted a chance to join our school. You have showed us everything we love and seek in a student: courage, sincerity, humility and will power to keep trying no matter the outcome. We would like to congratulate you on your admission and hope to see and discover more about you soon.

 

Wonder Phoenix High School has been created to support young proteges in achieving their dreams, which may include getting the job they’ve always wanted. We also offer you the highest quality teachings simplified to allow students to dedicate themselves to what their heart truly desires.

 

We would like to meet you again as soon as possible to discuss further matters that will allow you to officialize your enrollment and beginning of your new school life. 

 

Sincerely,   
Yvonne the Lioness.

 

Nova lowered the paper, incredulous. “I got accepted?”

 

“They didn't provide me any additional info," the wolf admitted, “But I can assume you did.”

 

The panda wasn't really expecting him to give a serious answer but at least he wasn't hallucinating.

 

“Oh God, I can't believe it!” He wanted to scream, showing his full excitement for the happy news, but when the engine of Marvin's car began to run, he realized he couldn't.

 

“DAD! NO! WAIT! I GOTTA GO TO SCHOOL!”

 

The panda effortlessly chased after him, struggling as hard as he could to send a sign to stop but Marvin started the car and left.

 

“What's wrong dear?” Isabelle asked, “Did you need something?”

 

“I gotta go to school! They accepted me!” He quickly explained as he showed the letter to her before proceeding to wave his paws in the air as a last resort.

 

Marvin looked through the mirror and saw his son waving excitedly. “Ah…he’s such a good boy. I'll miss you too.” He extended his left paw to greet him.

 

“NO DAD, I'M NOT SAYING GOODBYE YOU IDIOT!”

 

“Nova! You shouldn't say such things about your father,” the polar bear scolded, picking up her phone. “I'll just call him, then he'll come back.”

 

Isabelle called his number and waited until the two bears started to hear an annoying ringtone coming from their house.

 

“Please tell me that's a coincidence,” Nova begged.

 

His mother lowered her ears, disappointed. “He forgot his phone.”

 

“Well…I mean we could walk there but it'll take some time. I still have no idea when busses come.”

 

“Let's take the taxi dear," she sighed, “It's the easiest solution.”

 

“I hope you don't mind," the wolf chimed in, “but I did call a taxi before and it'll be here in a few moments.”

 

The two bears glanced at each other confused.

 

Nova blinked. “Uh…thanks, but how did you-"

 

“I received a warning about a problematic parent. I took precautions and I'm glad I did,” he explained, walking on the sidewalk.

 

“Problematic you say?” Isabelle remarked, showing signs of increasing anger.

 

Nova, seeing how close his mother was from hurting the wolf, saw the car getting closer and opened its doors and pushed them inside.

 

“Oh! Look at that! The taxi is here!” He mumbled, “let’s go, let’s go we don’t want to waste more time, right?”

 

The polar bear loved Marvin no matter his flaws. Whoever dared to offend him was destined to pay the price for that mistake. Their son was the only one allowed. They're a family and she was devoted to both.

 

“Morning, what is your destination?” The driver asked the wolf that sat next to him.

 

“Please bring us to W.P. High School.”

 

The tiger turned around. “That area is restricted unless one of you is a student from there.”

 

The wolf didn't hesitate and showed him a badge. It contained the school initials embraced by a shining red phoenix behind them.

 

“Okay then.” He nodded, starting the engine. “We will be there in twenty minutes. Should I charge the school for the ride?”

 

“Yes, they already have it covered.”

 

The driver softly hummed as he turned the radio on. “Alright.”

 

“So uhm…who are you anyway?” Nova asked the silent canine.

 

“"Ryuu, a student from 1B, fifteen years old. Pleased to meet you Nova.”

 

“Uh, yeah… Sure!” The panda reluctantly murmured back, feeling uncomfortable that he knew his name already. “Nice to meet you too. She's my mother Isabelle, and the panda who left before is my father, Marvin.”

 

“I was there yesterday,” he coldly affirmed. “There's no need to tell me.”

 

Nova remembered how he opened up in front of everyone in the school and, as much as it helped soothe his relationship with his father, now every student and teacher knew about him and he knew nothing of them.

 

“Your challenge was interesting. My approach would've been completely different. I wonder what he saw in you when he decided to interfere.”

 

The panda stayed silent, guessing he must've been referring to that black crocodile.

 

“Are you going to be my guide around school?” Nova asked, clueless as to why they would send another student to get him and not just deliver the letter alone.

 

“Kinda. That is also included.”

 

“Is there something else we should know?” 

 

“Leave that to Yvonne. I'm sure I would confuse you more. Better to seeing things for yourself first. You can ask questions later.”

 

“Fair enough…” He shrugged, settling back in his seat.

 

“Dear, you looked anxious. Is everything alright?” Isabelle inquired, placing her paw on his knee.

 

“Yesterday we didn't give the best first impression and now I'm afraid I'll get too much attention,” he sighed.

 

“It's alright. You're not alone. I'm here. I'll scare them away!”

 

Nova didn't know if that should reassure or concern him. “Thanks, I guess…”

 

Before he could plug in his headphones and turn on some music to escape the awkwardness, his smartphone vibrated.

 

“Hey Nova! I found something interesting while lurking around for information.”

 

It was a message from Cody. So far, Nova has told him everything.

 

“I'm heading to the school right now. Seems like they accepted me.”

 

“Really?! That's awesome dude! I can't celebrate with you but…we can add to the list of things to do when you visit me again.”

 

“There's this guy here that said to not ask until we arrive but I'm curious…”

 

“Okay, okay…here's what I've found on the internet. Jungle Madness is an old sport created to showcase the best of the best. It's a sport that combines both strength and mind.”

 

“Alright…sounds cool, but what do you need to do?”

 

“Well…it doesn't say. There are examples but none of the challenges are similar.”

 

“Like they were all different?”

 

“Yeah, exactly. My theory is that the participants decide everything together; challenge, rules and winning condition.”

 

“Thinking back to what happened yesterday it does make sense. If only I knew this sooner. The wolf here made it sound like something overly complex.”

 

“Maybe it is? What I found referred to the Jungle Madness practiced ages ago. I think they took the basic idea and improved it.”

 

“I see…so they're bringing back an old thing from the past. Did you find something else?”

 

“On the forums I found rumors about three schools practicing it. Your school, the Wonder Phoenix, the Golden Dragon and the Majestic Chimera.”

 

“All of them contain mythological creatures; is that some sort of connection?”

 

“I was getting to that part. Basically, the headmasters are lions.”

 

“What? Are you serious? All of them?”

 

“Yes, there is no doubt they're all connected. A big family? They must be rich as fuck.”

 

“Well, it doesn't matter. I wonder why they care so much about this old sport though.”

 

“Sorry, that's all I could find. Everything related to Jungle Madness in the present has been hidden and covered up.”

 

“I read an article about this. They said that they will organize tournaments to show off their new discipline.”

 

“Maybe they're still working on it?”

 

“Guess I'll discover it soon.”

 

Nova put his phone away and waited in silence, letting the radio’s dialogue fill the silence.

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

The panda stepped out of the car and walked towards the gate while Ryuu dealt with the taxi driver.

 

He touched the iron bars and tilted his head closer.

 

Wonder Phoenix was a school for the best students, for people who already knew what they wanted to do. Nova didn't know. He received help from a stranger, his position was undeserved. He felt…out of place.

 

“What are thinking about?” Isabelle asked, noticing him spacing out.

 

“UH- NOTHING!” He panicked. “Why does there always gotta be something Mom? There's nothing to hide, nothing to say.”

 

His mother didn't believe his terrible acting. “Nova.”

 

“I swear it's nothing! Just some dumb thoughts.” He shrugged, heading for the intercom.

 

“Don't press it,” the wolf warned, stopping his finger one moment before it would push the button. “That is just bait. Whoever attends the school gets inside using another way; the school way.”

 

Ryuu took out a magnetic card and shoved it inside the intercom. There was a small space between the buttons but Nova would never think to insert something inside. The intercom whirled to life with mechanical sounds and returned the card.

 

“Okay, we can go now.” 

 

“So basically, if you ring the school knows it's a nuisance,” the panda inferred, remembering yesterday.

 

“Yes, you could say that.”

 

His mother had the same reaction Nova had the first time he walked through upon entering the school.

 

“I feel like that whoever looks after this garden puts his love and soul into it. Like, look at these bushes! They're perfect replicas of real animals. The fountain is lovely too.” 

 

The polar bear inhaled the fragrant smell of earth coming from the well preserved area.

 

“Don't praise Raymond's work too much. That frog can be quite obnoxious,” the wolf muttered, waiting for them to walk inside.

 

“I'm guessing this guy is the gardener?” The panda questioned, reaching him.

 

“Don't worry. You'll meet him soon anyway. I won't ruin your first meeting.”

 

The hallway was deserted except for a lone hippopotamus carrying around a trolley. Judging by his clothes, the mop and the bucket filled with water he must've been the cleaner. Every student was attending their respective daily class.

 

Nova noticed that the guy and Ryuu exchanged glances with each other while the group passed by. He proceeded to examine the strange things the wolf carried along with him.

 

When they reached the headmistress office the panda scanned his surroundings with caution. The gorilla he met wasn't there anymore; he really was another student. Did the school hire its own students? It was weird.

 

The headmistress was speaking on the phone when the group walked in, yet she quickly closed the call to greet them.

 

“Good morning Ryuu. I suppose this is Nova and his mother?” She inquired, sitting down.

 

Isabelle hurried to answer. “Good morning. We came as soon as possible. My name is Isabelle and yes, I'm his mother.”

 

“I requested your presence here because, as you know by now, we reached our final decision. It wasn't easy, some of us were contrary. We have severe rules about choosing new students, and for some, this result could be seen as…unfair. It may result in hate from your peers, but if you really have what it takes I'm sure you will be able to change everyone's opinion.”

 

She placed a huge pile of paperwork on the desk. “This is the contract. Every student gets a personalized one based on our judgement. You're free to take your time reading through it.”

 

“Oh…” Isabelle’s eyes widened. “That's…that's a big looking document.”

 

“It is important we provide everything useful for the parents. In the contract you'll find the teachers’ info with their programs, school rules, our objective as a school and, of course, the payment amount and their due dates.”

 

The polar bear nodded, wanting nothing more than freedom from the mountain ahead. “Perfect. So…where should I sign?”

 

“Forgive me but I must insist. We consider this moment extremely valuable for you in case you may not like what we offer you now have the power to step aside.”

 

“But…this could take hours!” She wailed internally.

 

“Don't worry. Your son will be allowed to join his new class for today. It will be a good experience for both of you.”

 

“Now?!” Nova panicked, shutting his mouth instantly.

 

“Ryuu will guide you. You have nothing to fear,” she explained, handing over two single papers. “I want you two to sign this right now though.”

 

The bears picked it up and read the title,

 

Vow of Silence

 

“What's this about?” 

 

“We would like to avoid any kind of information leaking outside unless we, the school, agree on it beforehand. This paper ensures us that you won't talk about the school system or share our teachings outside, or worse, on the internet. It will be considered a privacy violation and we will be able to take legal action.”

 

“Alright…” Isabelle and Nova signed.

 

The wolf stood up and opened the door, communicating to the panda it was time to go.

 

“Can't I have a copy to bring back home…?” Isabelle begged.

 

“There are some focal points I'd like you to see first but I guess I can help you out.”

 

“Thank you…” She whispered in tears.

 

“Nova, wait. Before you go,” the headmistress called, and waited for him to turn, “Have you found your aspiration?”

 

The panda bit his lower lip, clutching his left arm. “I'm sorry. I don't know yet.”

 

“I won't pressure you but this will influence your position.”

 

The panda gulped, pretending it didn't affect him and walked away.

 

Ryuu raised a brow, not understanding why he felt overwhelmed and lost already. He hadn't seen anything yet.

 

“You okay?”

 

Nova felt like someone was punching his stomach from inside. He didn't realize he was sweating and panting until the wolf asked.

 

“No point in hiding it.” He admitted, sliding down until he sat on the floor.

 

“Not everyone figures out what they want in life if that is what's bothering you.”

 

“Yeah…you nailed it. I'm panicking due to the pressure. I feel like I don't deserve to stay here. Yvonne examined me from head to toe, her face was totally saying I'm letting you in out of pity.”

 

“You're exaggerating. Take a deep breath.”

 

“I'm not ready yet! I thought I was but maybe I'm not. I can't handle everyone looking at me now that I’m walking into their class and interrupting their lesson.”

 

Ryuu chuckled, “I find that hard to imagine.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I told you. Wait, check for yourself first. Your thoughts will be shattered the moment you meet them.”

 

The panda stood up. In the end, he wasn't wrong. “Okay, I'll trust you.”

 

Ryuu led the way, “Just follow me and-"

 

“WAIT! I forgot to ask her which class she assigned me to!”

 

“It doesn't matter. Come on.”

 

“What do you mean it doesn't? I'll ask her, just give me a moment.”

 

Annoyed, the wolf took his paw and dragged him forward. “I told you I know everything already. Just listen to me.”

 

“What if Mom needs to tell me something? I left so suddenly! She may need some help with reading the documents! Are you sure you remember the correct information? What if you get confused!”

 

“You. Think. Too. Much.”

 

“Okay, okay! You win! Just let me go now! I can walk there on my own!”

 

Every attempt he made to escape from his grasp failed miserably. Ryuu didn't let his arm go until he reached the classroom.

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

Nova, paralyzed with fear, stared at the door in utter silence.

 

“Knock on the door,” Ryuu advised from behind.

 

“Are you sure this is my classroom? What if you're wrong? Imagine how embarrassing that would be!”

 

“Yvonne told me that you've been assigned to my class under the guardian's request.”

 

“C-Can’t you do that on your own?” His voice trembled. “You should be the one who goes first. It's your class anyway!”

 

“No, you need to overcome this illogical fear.”

 

“Illogical?! IT'S NOT ILLOGICAL.”

 

The wolf extended his paw, knocked for him and stepped back.

 

“That's so unfair…” He gulped.

 

“You should say something.”

 

“Okay, okay.” Nova gave up and faced the problem head on. “Excuse me, can I come in?”

 

Some minutes passed but he didn't get any response.

 

He tilted his head towards the door trying to eavesdrop on the conversation inside. The thought of the classroom being empty soon disappeared when he heard a mixture of voices coming through the door. He couldn't clearly understand what they were saying but a lot of people were talking, that's why nobody replied to his call.

 

“You knocked. Just open the door,” Ryuu insisted.

 

“Can you stop pressuring me? I'm doing my best.”

 

Nova opened the door to be welcomed by someone's yell.

 

“MARK, I'M NOT GOING TO TOLERATE YOUR BULLSHIT ANYMORE! I AM TIRED--NO, EVERYONE IS TIRED. IF YOUR LIFE SUCKS BLAME THAT ON YOURSELF, NOT US!”

 

The panda couldn't process the situation. The number of things out of the ordinary were impossible to account for.

 

The class itself wasn't a class. Desks and chairs were nowhere to be found. There was no floor. It was a mountain path removed from somewhere and glued in the room with rocks everywhere. It reminded him of yesterday, when the gym morphed in front of him with the only exception made for the teacher's desk, the only thing that belonged to a real class. On the desk, a big giraffe cuddling a young sloth slept peacefully. Was that the teacher? Why are they sleeping together? The majority of the students were grouped in a circle watching two animals, a female beaver and a male cheetah, fighting in the middle. Others were scattered all around the class minding their own business like the crocodile Nova saw yesterday. He was laying on the window, staring outside as if he didn't mind how things were going.

 

“Nat, how many times you need to hear this? I don't give a fuck. You wanna fight me? Bring it on punk,” the cheetah taunted.

 

“I swear to God I have never used this knife to cut anything but materials I needed to craft, but if I have to I will stab you!”

 

“Please guys, stop! Violence is never the answer!”

 

“Let them fight. I'm curious.”

 

“I bet twenty dollars on Natalie.”

 

“Interesting offer. Will you accept if I bet fifteen on Mark?”

 

“Deal.”

 

The students commented on the scene but nobody stopped them, and the ones who wanted to were too scared to interfere.

 

Nova didn't feel welcomed at all. The scene seemed so unrealistic like coming out of some dumb book a child wrote.

 

“Okay no, this is too much for me.”

 

He hysterically laughed and smashed the door shut. He shut himself and Ryuu out to where everything still made sense.

 

“Confused enough?” The wolf laughed.

 

“I have so many questions right now and I'm not sure what I want to ask.”

 

“Take your time.” He moved past him, curious to see the reason of that reaction.

 

Ryuu gave a quick glance around and shouted, “NOVA'S HERE! FIX THIS MESS ALREADY!”

 

The classroom froze instantly and the students turned to the wolf. What they were doing didn't matter anymore. Rox walked back inside, reached Ryuu and handed him over one dollar.

 

“I see. The usual,” he replied to his silent friend, heading back to the panda.

 

“Hey Ryuu, listen, I don't really feel like going inside… I'm not the type of-"

 

Nova mumbled some excuses that the wolf didn't consider at all as he stepped past, leaving him behind.

 

“Wait! Where are you going?!”

 

“I'm going upstairs. You coming or you wanna stay there?”

 

He truly wanted to go back to his mother, but he didn't have enough courage to confess.

 

The door opened again before Nova could say something. When he turned he saw the cheetah glaring down at him menacingly.

 

“Ah-I'm coming! Wait for me!” He freaked out and chased after the wolf without looking back.

 

The cheetah glanced down, disappointed, and walked away in the opposite direction.

 

“Ryuu!” Nova panted, “Slow down, please!”

 

“I wasn't running.”

 

“Just let me catch a break…”

 

The wolf looked at the stairs in front of him, then back to the tired panda. “I'm not carrying you.”

 

“No...no. It's alright. I can do this.”

 

“Why don't you ask me one question? I have a feeling it will take some time anyway.”

 

“Okay… tell me what's wrong with this school?”

 

“Nothing. It's a question you should ask to the public ones.”

 

“At least the public schools have desks to work on and chairs to sit on.”

 

“I'll consider it a question for the playgrounds.”

 

“...Playgrounds? I have another definition of those in mind.”

 

“Are you going to say something useless everytime I try to explain things to you or are you done?”

 

“...Sorry.”

 

“Every class has a special training ground where they can challenge each other whenever they want. Most of us specialize in physical abilities or mix with something else so the guardian requested a terrain that would satisfy the majority of us.”

 

“So I'm guessing the room morphs like that basketball camp I saw yesterday.”

 

“That's correct.”

 

Nova felt relieved. Tiring himself out like that gave him the chance to rest a bit. Ryuu’s presence was also very calming as if everything was fine no matter the situation.

 

The school, its system, the students...everything looked interesting. He just… couldn't see himself there.

 

“Shall we go now?”

 

The panda nodded and followed him upstairs.

 

“Please tell me more about this…Jungle Madness.”

 

“You went for the biggest one, huh? I'll try but there's a lot of stuff to say and I may lose some details along the way. You'll learn it better by watching one.”

 

They reached a small coffee machine at the end of the stairs.

 

“Before I start do you want something? I have enough to buy two.”

 

“It's not my money so I shouldn't ask.”

 

“Nah, Rox always gives me the exact amount of money I have to spend. It means he offers you one.”

 

“You sure? I don't want to-"

 

“Yes, I am.”

 

He pressed several buttons to make a coffee without sugar.

 

“I'm making the first for our teacher. What do you want?”

 

Nova turned to the machine and saw a wide amount of combinations but only one matched his taste.

 

“Can I have some hot chocolate?” He blushed, thinking it may look like a childish request.

 

“Sure.” He collected the change from the machine to insert the coins back in.

 

“Rox is the crocodile, right? I heard his name while he helped me.”

 

“Yes, he's our guardian.”

 

“Oh yeah, about that. I heard that word a few times but I still don't know. What is a guardian?”

 

“You know what a class rep is, right?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“They're similar roles but a guardian can also be a teacher's substitute. Guardians have authority and power in the school. They help their classmates, fix problems, talk to others, take care of duties and probably some other things I don't know.”

 

“Okay…makes sense, kinda. What about that sleeping giraffe?”

 

“She's one of our teachers. Her name is Rosanne but everyone calls her Mrs. Giraffe anyway.”

 

“What happened there? Why was she sleeping? Why were those two fighting?”

 

Ryuu sighed as he handed him his hot cup. “All of a sudden talking about the Jungle Madness looks way easier.”

 

“It's alright. I mean, if this is hard to explain I will just shut up…” He sipped the cup, burning his tongue.

 

“Rosanne is a hard worker. As far as we know she has three jobs and she never takes a break. We don't know why. The other professors keep it a secret and we just deal with it. We try to help with Jamie, that sloth you saw sleeping with her. He's magic or something; if you're tired you can't stay close to him that you will just pass out.”

 

Nova giggled, “They looked happy though.”

 

“We can't keep this up. For now it's fine since we barely started school, but we need to work otherwise we won't be able to spend our time on real school.”

 

“Real school?”

 

“I'll explain that later. Now about the cheetah and the beaver. You met Natalie already, right?”

 

“Yeah…she seems a bit like a bully.”

 

“It's the character she decided to build for whatever reason. Let her be. She won't hurt you if you don't bother her.”

 

“What about the other one?”

 

His expression darkened, hinting that he didn't like to touch the argument. “He is a bad guy. If possible avoid any contact with him. He shouldn't be a problem for you if you pretend he doesn't exist.”

 

“...Can I at least know his name?”

 

“Stay away from Mark. That's the only thing I ask of you.”

 

“Thanks for telling me his name I guess.”

 

Nova finished his cup and threw it away in the trash can. Ryuu pointed to move downstairs, to get back to the class now that the coffee cooled down a bit.

 

“A Jungle Madness is a challenge,” he resumed his explanation. “It sounds generic but that's how it is. It's what comes after that makes it special.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You can't win a Jungle Madness with only strength or intelligence. It wouldn't be different from any other sport, right? You need both with a bit of creativity. Once the challenged decides the theme and winning condition there are the rules and bans section where you can outsmart your opponent. Whoever wins gets the prize, whatever it was they agreed on before.”

 

“I think I'm still confused but…overall I got it? I guess I need to see one in front of me.”

 

“You will. Sooner than you expect. For now you should meet your classmates and comrades in your journey.”

 

“Comrades is such a weird word choice though.”

 

“Over time you'll understand.”

 

“It almost feels like we're an army ready to fight or something.”

 

Ryuu opened the door, walking inside first. Nova hesitated at the edge. His body didn't want to cross over and his eyesight was limited to just his comrade getting to the teacher, waking her up from slumber.

 

“I'm sorry, it happened again…” She yawned, her head still on the desk.

 

“It's his fault, not yours. He should be more respectful of your situation.”

 

“No, there's no excuse for me either. My conduct has been inadequate of a professor.” She took the coffee from his paws. “Thanks Ryuu, always available to help me out.”

 

She sipped the cup while her brain processed the situation and cognition became fully operational. “Wait…how long have I been asleep? Didn't you leave to get Nova? Where is he?”

 

Ryuu didn't reply and stepped aside. The teacher's desk was on a higher level and the wolf was tall enough to cover the entrance.

 

She instantly swallowed the coffee, caught off guard. The giraffe was wearing a brown jacket, a purple shirt and a dark blue skirt. Her skin was brighter than the common giraffe.

 

“Oh God, I'm so sorry. Please come in…”

 

The teacher looked really ashamed. It reminded him of himself and he couldn't refuse. She looked kind and polite, the type of person you'd never want to disappoint.

 

Nova pushed himself inside and inched next to Ryuu.

 

“This is extremely embarrassing, please forgive my lack of manners.”

 

Rosanne raised her long neck and stared at the clock. “It's almost 11 AM.” She muttered, upset, “I can't believe this…”

 

Nova glued his eyes to her, afraid to see the students staring back at him. He heard whispering and tried as hard as possible to not listen.

 

“Might as well use the time remaining wisely then…” She sighed, “I'm Rosanne. I'll be your teacher for literature, history and language. Why don't you tell us something about yourself?”

 

“I'm…uh-"

 

“Nova please face the class. You're talking to them…” She remarked.

 

The class didn't look like a battlefield anymore. It surprised him how fast everything changed back to normal. He noticed that there weren't as many students as he once thought. He counted eleven students, twelve including himself.

 

In the first line he saw a sloth on the left, now half awake, a beaver and a monkey in the middle, and an owl on the right. A little desk was positioned on top of the monkey one with a mouse. It looked weird, but on the ground the mouse would never see what's going on, or worse, get crushed by mistake.

 

In the second line, a swan on the left, a fox in the middle and a husky on the right.

 

The last line was basically empty seats. The crocodile was the only one there sitting on the left. Did some students not show up today? Maybe that was where his and Ryuu’s desks were.

 

The seats must've been assigned by someone because they were organized by their height. Tallest and biggest animals were positioned deep at the end while medium and small ones were closer to the blackboard and not only that. Every accessory was tailored for the animal it was meant to be used with. The mouse with her tiny desk and the owl with a desk and a tree branch where he could've landed on.

 

Other than that, the classroom was huge compared to how many people were inside. This place was clearly meant to contain a bigger number of students.

 

“We already know the sleeping beauty over there!” Natalie the beaver laughed, “Let's get this over with!”

 

Nova's cheeks went on fire as he lowered his ears down, attempting to cover himself.

 

“You know what? You're right Natalie.” The giraffe said, standing up. “Nova, please go to that empty desk we prepared for you in the third line, the middle one. I have a better idea.”

 

The panda reluctantly nodded and moved among the students as he reached his place. 

 

Everyone's eyes were on him.

 

“Natalie gave me a nice idea to help your new classmate feeling welcomed here.” She turned to Ryuu. “Please go ahead and introduce yourself again. After you're done someone else will do the same.”

 

The students reacted with complaints towards the idea, scowls and frowns at Natalie.

 

“We were going to do that anyway. Give me a break.” The beaver shrugged.

 

“My name is Ryuu. I'm a black wolf, fifteen years old and I joined this school to achieve my dream to be a programmer.” He explained, looking at him.

 

“I attended during his audition exam.” The teacher added, “He showed us a prototype of a new communication app.”

 

“It was just a replica. The real deal needs time to be ultimately complete.”

 

“Very good Ryuu! You can go back to your place now.” She hummed happily, “Okay... Hmmm...Esmeralda! Come, you're next.”

 

A swan stood up from Nova's right side. As soon as he saw her, he recalled how she took care of him yesterday. The bird smiled at him while moving past towards the desk.

 

“Hello, my name is Esmeralda. I'm a sixteen years old swan and, I don't know if you remember me or the others, but we were the ones who looked after you-"

 

“Also the ones who hit you,” the beaver intervened, laughing.

 

“As I was saying please call me Aly or Essy. Feel free to use another nickname too, just don't use my full name. I always think that I made a mistake and now you're mad at me. At least, that's how I hear that name nowadays. Pleased to meet you.”

 

The swan, dressed in fancy blue and white clothes, completely captured Nova's attention. She had a charismatic aura that wouldn't let her go unnoticed.

 

“Esmeralda is an aspiring model, even if you didn't know I'm sure you felt flattered somehow.”

 

The swan started to play with her hair, blushing. “I'm sorry. I-I just wanted to avoid that part. As much as I love my job sometimes it can be quite obstructing. My job and title goes before me and people never show me their true selves…”

 

“It's not your fault. You have a wonderful gift. You're beautiful and everything you wear looks perfect no matter what it is.”

 

Rosanne scowled at Natalie warning her not to comment any further.

 

“Alright guess I'll stay quiet. Can I leave like Mark did?”

 

“Mark left again?” The giraffe sighed, “I'd like to not write another note to him or his mother. Please, Ryuu, go look for him. You already introduced yourself to Nova so it won't be a problem for you.”

 

The wolf frowned, showing clear signs that he didn't want to agree to such request. “...If I really have to.”

 

He slowly stood up and headed out.

 

“Since my presentation is finished may I sit back down?” She went back to her seat after the teacher nodded in response.

 

“Next is you Natalie. Come on.”

 

“This is so lame…” She muttered, climbing the teacher's desk. “I'm Natalie, fifteen, crafter. There, I'm done.”

 

“It would be nice if you could be, you know, just a little more detailed.”

 

“It doesn't come out when I don't want to. I can't create anything when people force me to.”

 

“It's an introduction, Natalie. You're not making anything.”

 

“Everything I do is a creation. Me and my special knife create countless masterpieces: statuettes, accessories, tools and also weapons under some circumstances. I just need inspiration and a reason to do so.”

 

“That's better. See? It wasn't so hard.”

 

“You saw the Phoenix statue at the entrance? I did that. The first sketch was my idea, I carved it out of wood into a statue.”

 

“Okay Natalie, I'm sure your classmate knows enough of you. Please go back to your seat.”

 

“First you want me to talk and when I'm doing it you push me away. I'll never understand your logic.”

 

“So…the next one is-"

 

Rosanne tried to select another student but the ear breaking sound of a bell interrupted her and everyone stood up from their seats, except for Nova, overly confused on what was going on.

 

“I know that now it's break time but your new classmate wants to meet you all one-by-one!”

 

A female monkey stopped through the crowd that rushed outside. “But Prof, if we don't hurry the best food will be taken!”

 

“... Food?” The new student remarked.

 

“Basically the school prepares homemade sweets and snacks you can buy or take thanks to your level,” the simian quickly explained and ran off.

 

“I thought you were clear but now I'm more lost than before.” The levels thingy didn't make sense to him.

 

Rosanne sighed, gathering her papers, “I'm sorry Nova. Why don't you take a look around? I'm sure it'll be fine.”

 

“Y-Yes…” He reluctantly replied, “Have a good day!”

 

“Thanks. Remember to go back to the entrance hall, they're selling good stuff there.”

 

“Uh- sure!”

 

Nova looked around the empty class. He didn't know what to do. Ryuu left and hadn't returned yet. Should he take a look outside or just wait for him there? He toyed with his fingers as he waited a few minutes for his friend. The wolf must've been on his way, but he didn't show up.

 

Someone did though. Someone who didn't seem to like the new classmate.

 

“Waiting for your babysitter?” The cheetah scoffed as he walked inside.

 

“Ryuu’s not my babysitter. He's just telling me how the school works.”

 

“Sure, because you think everyone gets their personal assistant that follows the new guy around the school.”

 

“The headmistress asked him, probably. Is there a problem with that?”

 

He laughed, “You're that naive? Oh God… I'm sure you also think this school is amazing and everyone is friendly, right?”

 

The panda blushed, feeling like an open book. “Why? Are you going to tell me they aren't? It looks good to me.”

 

“They're using you, panda. You're something that has never happened before. They wanna take advantage of you and your value here.”

 

“That's ridiculous.” He wondered what he meant by value.

 

“Yeah because you think Ryuu is helping you out of the goodness of his heart, am I right? Because he's listening to a teacher's request? You're wrong. You're a tool.”

 

“I'm not following…”

 

“Of course you can't. Why do I even bother.” 

 

Mark rolled his eyes, muttered something that Nova couldn't clearly hear and exited the classroom again.

 

“Is Ryuu hiding something from me?” The panda questioned out loud as he stood up.

 

Nova, filled with more questions than answers, headed back to the first floor, eager to know how his mother was doing.


	3. Missing

Crimson blood gushed down his face coating once clean fur. Nova’s eyes widened as fear, worry and anger rampaged his mind. 

Nova understood the first moment he spotted them. It was a repulsive feeling that didn’t come close to the poorly made replicas seen in the movies. No matter how realistically they could replicate wounds, blood, and corpses, the real deal was absolutely vivid, another world.

“Oh my God…” He covered his mouth, shaking in fear. He didn't know what else to do, so he cried for help. He just wanted to save his friend.

“Somebody help them!”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The panda used the path both he and Ryuu had taken to return to the Headmistress’ office, maybe the wolf went there? Nevertheless, he needed to meet with his mother and Yvonne, there was another thing he must've mentioned to her.

“I'm coming in…” He said, twisting the knob.

Yvonne and Isabelle were still discussing the contract, his mother looked tired and somewhat worried.

“How's it going?” The panda asked.

“We're done.” She exhaled, as if holding her breath. “I wasn't ready for this at all.”

“So…we're leaving now?” Nova was bouncing back and forth between leaving or staying, but such opportunity wasn’t in his power.

“I am,” Isabelle remarked. “You're staying.”

“But I have nothing with me! What about pencils and notebooks? The school can't provide those too.”

“Just for today. I'm sure no one will complain. You can tell them that Yvonne is fine with it.”

“The school does, in fact, provide them,” the lioness chimed in. “In this school you'll receive everything you need, materials included.”

“Wait…so I don't need to bring anything with me?” Nova inquired.

“No, unless one of the professors ask you to complete an assignment. Normally we do everything in school hours. If you wish to study at home we have a very comfortable feature that Ryuu will surely explain to you later. Where is he?” The headmistress demanded, slightly irritated. “It's his job to be by your side until you feel accustomed to stay by yourself. I hope there is a valid reason for you being alone.”

“Well, uh, Mrs. Giraffe asked him to look for Mark so I was thinking let's go back to Mom until he shows up again.”

“I understand. Until he comes back I advise you to wait inside your classroom.” Her irritation vanished instantly upon hearing Mark's name. Was he imagining things?

“Mom?” The panda asked, tilting his body towards her. She was nervously tapping at her phone, almost smashing the fragile screen. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. I was just checking something real quick.” Isabelle pressed the home button; whatever she was doing had her hurried to hide it.

“Were you messaging Dad?” 

“Oh! Yeah! I wanted to tell him to come and get me but I'm sure he won't notice. Guess I'll walk there and get the car myself.”

Nova raised a brow. His mom easily fell in the trap the panda setup. This morning dad forgot his phone and she should've remembered. Isabelle didn't want to tell him the truth. “Alright then. I'll see you later.”

She nodded and hurriedly exited the room. Nova patiently waited until his mother was out of sight before speaking. “What was it?” He turned to Yvonne. “I'm sure you know—even if she didn't mention it—what's going on…”

“I'd rather not interfere in business not of my own. If she hid it from you there is a reason.” 

“It’s related to me, so I’d like to know please!” Nova had some theories but mostly he was upset about them keeping it from him. He's not a clueless child that wouldn't understand! This school life was his and he deserved to know everything.

“My family is important and I can’t stand the thought of not being able to help them out. If there is something I can do I wish to know!”

Yvonne didn’t say anything but his reply piqued her interest.

Nova sighed, thinking that she wouldn’t budge. “There’s something else I need to show you.”

The panda picked up his phone, opened his messages and turned the screen towards her. “I’ve been talking to my friend about the school and everything that has happened so far. I still wanna talk to him but I signed the vow so I can’t. My friend, unlike me, can spread information.”

Her eyes widened. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?!”

“Sorry…” He scratched his cheek. The thought of meeting an entire class had overwhelmed him at the time. “I came back as soon as I remembered.”

“Give me their number.”

Though Nova had no idea what she wanted with it, asking wouldn’t result in a good answer.

“He obtained information that hasn't been released yet. I need to take utmost precaution to prevent any form of intel from leaking into the internet,” she said while the panda scribbled the number on paper. “I’ll let you know my decision later. For now, refrain from having further conversations about this matter.”

“I understand. I’ll go then…” He sighed, walking towards the door.

“It was about the level system,” she admitted as he twisted the knob. “Once you know what that is you’ll easily noticed what disturbed your mother.”

“Do you know about the rumors?” He replied, “On the internet there are rumors about this and two more schools working together under one big family. I don't know if it's true, but… you may want to know.”

Before exiting the room, Nova briefly glanced at the lioness before closing the door behind him. Her frozen expression caught him off guard.

She looked paralyzed, slightly trembling with her paw covering her mouth.

Was there more to it?

“NOVA!”

The panda jumped as he instantly turned around.

“ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!?”

The black gorilla didn't listen and strangled him tight in his arms.

“REGGIE WANTED TO SEE YOU SO BAD!”

“...Ugh, can't...breathe—!"

“Oh no, Reggie sorry. Me really proud of you!” He stated in tears, finally releasing him. “Your speech so good; me touched.”

Everytime someone mentioned it, Nova flushed. “Thanks…I guess.”

“You're a sophomore, huh?” Reggie said, bumping his arm into Nova's. “Me thought you were a first year who went to complain about their audition.”

“Do I look younger?”

“Reggie's a freshman.”

Nova blinked, looking at his huge build. The gorilla was bigger in everything compared to him. “You're…a first year?”

He nodded with a grin. “Reggie did an audition and got selected. Me still learning but Reggie can help if you confused.”

Nova wanted to look for Ryuu, but couldn’t do it alone. He hadn’t made any friends yet from his classroom since they all ran off somewhere. The gorilla appeared at a good time; it felt like someone had sent him there.

“Actually, yes please! I still don't know the school and its secrets. I'd be glad if you could show me around.”

Reggie's eyes shined as he grabbed Nova’s arm, pulling him away. “LET'S GO!”

“WAIT WHA-!"

He practically threw the panda on his shoulder and rushed down the hallway, running over whoever stood in their way.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! CALM DOWN!”

Surprisingly for Nova all the students moved away when they passed through as if they were already used to this kind of behavior.

“WATCH OUT!” The panda shouted, noticing a brown-furred bear still standing in the way.

The grizzly took a deep breath and shouted, “REGGIE, STOP RIGHT NOW.”

The gorilla finally reacted and screeched to a stop right in front of the animal.

“L-Laila…” He whispered, scared.

“HOW MANY TIMES I GOTTA TELL YOU TO STOP DOING THIS.” The bear scolded, pointing at the primate threateningly.

Nova noticed just now from their voice that she was female, contradicting his earlier opinion based off her buff appearance. The braids really didn't help him.

“Reggie wanted to show the school to Nova…” He said, picking the panda from his back and placing him in front of her.

“You are-"

Laila stuttered and froze entirely, finger motions included as if she had come across an unexpected legend.

“Thank you so much for helping me out. He just wasn't listening.”

Nova took her paw and shook it vigorously making the bear even more uncomfortable than she was before.

“Sure, no problem.” Her face lit on fire.

The gorilla stepped up, toying with his fingers. “Reggie's in trouble now?”

“I'll turn a blind eye to it this time. It was clearly an emergency,” she laughed, trying to shake off the embarrassment. “If you need anything my class is nearby. We're both 2B freshmen.”

“Me confused. Why Laila so red?” He tilted his head, not understanding her unusual reaction.

“IT'S NOTHING! I JUST DID SOME WEIGHTLIFTING AND I'M TIRED OKAY? JEEZ, GET NOVA SOMETHING TO EAT INSTEAD!” She yelled, clenching her fists.

“Weightlifting?” The panda remarked, “No- wait, Reggie!”

The gorilla, thinking that now she was getting upset for real, grabbed Nova and ran deeper into the hallway.

“HURRY BEFORE LAILA GETS MAD AT REGGIE.”

“No, Reggie please, can't we walk? I don't want everyone's attention on me!”

The gorilla halted his run on the spot, making the panda bounce on him. “Wait, didn't you want something to eat?”

“WHEN DID I SAY THAT?! I ASKED YOU TO GUIDE ME AROUND, I'M NOT EVEN HUNGRY!”

“Oh, God… Reggie so sorry. Laila constantly eats, me assumed you the same. Bears like it but me was wrong?”

Nova facepalmed, trying to not blame him more. “Let's just walk towards this…food area or whatever it’s called. I'm in no hurry and have questions for you.”

“Okay, Reggie will do that.”

“Good, thank you.”

Nova felt like a magnet. Whoever crossed his path stared at him but turned away when the panda looked back. In this situation maybe riding the gorilla like a mount wasn't a bad idea after all.

“Reggie can you explain what the level system is? The headmistress mentioned it before,” he inquired, hoping that starting a conversation would distract him.

“Level system?” He blinked for a few moments until he understood. “OH, SHE MEAN THE CARD.”

Reggie dug inside his pockets and pulled out a black card. “This is, uh, level three!”

“I saw that already! Ryuu opened the main gate with it!”

“Card is must item to get into school. You can't ever forget it.”

“So that means I'll get one too?”

“Sure, Yvonne must be working on yours already.”

“Cool, but that's all? It opens the gate, okay, but why do you call it level three?”

“Cards go from level one to five. Each level gives you different bonus.”

Nova stared at him, waiting to hear which bonus he's referring to.

“Sorry, me doesn't remember. Reggie fell asleep during explanation.”

“Okay...let's try it this way then. Did you start on level one?”

“Oh no, they gave Reggie level three card directly after finishing Reggie's audition a few months ago.”

“I'm guessing they gave you the correspondent level based on your performance but I wonder if you can get an even higher level later on.”

“Reggie sorry. He should've listened…but me remembers that you can go higher.”

“It's alright, you’ve helped me enough! I'll ask Ryuu when I'll find him.”

“Reggie doesn't know where he is but me can tell you something you must do as new student. Ryuu could be there!”

At the end of the hallway there was a big door blocking the way. It didn't look like it would lead to a classroom. Maybe the courtyard?

Reggie pushed the door open and he caught a glance of tables and people eating inside.

“That's the cafeteria. It opens only at 2 PM but during break you can use it to sit and relax with friends.”

“Wait…if it's closed where is all this food coming from?”

Nova asked, pointing at all the students shoving piles of various kinds of sweets down their throats .

“From the courtyard! Come, come, Reggie will show you this awesome place.”

Once again, the gorilla dragged him where he wanted without waiting for his consent. Nova missed the peaceful moments with Ryuu.

“Oh…what's going on here?”

The surprise at the state of his classroom didn’t compare to his reaction to the courtyard.  
Ignoring the fact that the majority of the school's students were gathered there creating a huge crowd that complicated any chance Nova had of spotting his friend, everyone was assaulting tables full of food trying to get their paws on them before the chefs ran out of stock. They weren't just eating: some of them were fighting, others playing, and so on. It seemed like everyone was doing whatever they pleased at the moment.

“Wait...are the chefs..?"

“Yes, students like you and me.”

Just like how Reggie was working yesterday to stay by Yvonne’s side, these students cooked and were selling food to others.

“They just sell the food, right? There's no way they have enough time to do this while attending school.”

“No, no. They did everything by themselves. That's how they earn credits and level up their cards.”

“So…now you remember how to get a higher level?”

“Not really… Reggie remembers fragments of what professor said.”

Reggie let Nova go and approached a big board positioned on the left. Since it was attached to the wall, those who had just walked in from outside normally wouldn’t see it. Nova didn't notice until the gorilla showed him.

“What's this?” He asked, glancing over the papers that were pinned onto it. Nova didn't want to read them all but the title of each document gave away that those were Jungle Madness.

“This is the school's dashboard and one of the most important things for a Wonder Phoenix student. It offers special challenges created by the teachers, advertises tournaments, gives us jobs, money, credits and that thing to level up the cards.”

“Is it always this filled?” He moved papers to the side only to find more hidden behind them! “How can you even choose what you wanna do?”

“That's because it's Wednesday. Three days a week we have full activity. That's also the best moment to get what you're looking for. You should know that some Jungle Madness are limited. Once the slots are filled no one else can join.

“Seems fair, but how do you actually find what you want in this mess?”

“It seems chaotic but they are organized: money, materials, favors and sport. There is also the undefined section if you don't know how to classify it.”

“I thought you would challenge someone on spot and make one. What's the difference here?”

“Here people look for opponents instead of bothering everyone. People can also create Jungle Madness tournaments just to watch them and be the judge.”

“...That's a thing?! I mean, it sounds cool to be the judge instead of doing it. What do you do as a judge? I'm getting curious!”

“Reggie knows that the judge balances out the rules, checks that the challengers follow them and identifies whoever breaks them. Cheating is allowed if not spotted but doing that means losing instantly.”

“Cheating here works too? Like if you win and they see you cheating after you win—"

“Yes, a win is a win. It's too late to complain.”

Nova's eyes shined with renewed interest. “This is awesome! I gotta try it!”

“You can't for now…” The gorilla said showing his phone and the card. “These two are necessary for a Jungle Madness. Me thinks Yvonne will call you again when they're ready for you.”

“Like…she'll give me another phone?”

“No!”Reggie laughed, “Yvonne will give you that famous card and a list of people you gotta meet.”

“I need to meet other people? Why?”

The ape’s stomach gurgled loudly. “REGGIE SKIPPED BREAKFAST!” He yelled, embarrassed.

“It's alright! I don't mind. Go get something for yourself and I'll wait here,” he awkwardly replied. “You can tell me more later.”

“Okay! Reggie will take something for you too!”

“No, it's not…necessary.”

Nova blinked in utter disbelief as the gorilla jumped away, landing in the crowd of animals lined up waiting for their turn. He just used him to give himself a reason to do that. He dragged him there because he was the hungry one.

“MOVE ASIDE! ME HUNGRY AND NOVA WANTS TO EAT!” 

Reggie created a chain reaction and other animals joined him. The weakest ones had to give up, moving aside for the biggest animals to show off in a fight.

“Oh God…”

He noticed that the closest students stared at him. “Uh… I-I don't know him, I-I swear!” He laughed, walking backwards. “I didn't tell him to do that.”

The panda, focused too much on what was happening in front of him, didn't look behind him and stepped on someone's foot, freaking him out even more.

“AH, I'm sorry!”

“I'm fine, don't worry about it. Why are you panicking?”

“NO! GIVE IT TO ME! REGGIE NEEDS THIS FOR HIS NEW PANDA FRIEND!”

Reggie screams reached them. The student turned around to see but already understood what was going on seeing that Nova was desperately hiding his face.

“I get it.” He grabbed his paw and dragged him away.

“I shouldn't leave him like that…” The panda mumbled back.

“We can stay if you want. You sure you can handle it?”

Nova slowly uncovered his face to glance over to Reggie. Instant regret filled his soul.

“No, no. Okay, you win. Let's move somewhere else as soon as possible.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

He was trying so hard to blend in, but his attempts to peacefully visit the school died in less than twenty four hours.

“Everyone will look at you for a good while buddy,” the stranger began. “Your Jungle Madness was awesome and now that a gorilla went on a rampage for you, you need to deal with it.”

“I don’t want this…”

“I feel you. That's what happens when you're the celebrity of the moment.”

“I never liked popularity.”

“We’ve arrived.” The guy stopped in front of a big window that showed the entire courtyard. “Don't look yet. I'll tell you when the commotion is over.”

“Thank you very much for dragging me out of it. I was kind of paralyzed so I couldn't think straight.”

“It's alright. We're classmates! We should help each other, am I right?” He smiled wiggling his ears and tail playfully.

“Classmates?”

The realization hit him like a slap to the face. 

A husky with brown eyes wearing a black and yellow hoodie and black trousers. He was around Ryuu's size but his personality was the complete opposite. This guy was extremely chill and easygoing.

“OH YEAH, I REMEMBER YOU NOW!”

“I'm honored to be remembered by such an important figure!” He chuckled, “I'm Arthur, fifteen years old. Nice to meet you Nova.”

“Please don't say that…”

“Come on, it was just an innocent joke. Don't bring yourself down like that.”

“Tell me the truth. What happened isn’t so uncommon to you, is it?”

“It was a Jungle Madness after all. I wasn't as weirded out as you, yes.”

“I'm sorry, could you be more specific?”

“Didn't Ryuu warn you about it? When food is running out the chefs make Jungle Madness for the winners, so instead of them fighting against students the latter will fight over each other to get the prize.”

“So…Reggie yelled because—"

“Intuitive, huh? Yes, he was declaring his entrance in the fight.”

“Jeez, he could've said something about it sooner.”

“From what I heard he's a bodyguard. He must be more inclined to take action and protect others. Not much of a talker or listener.”

Nova peeked out of the window and looked down. The gorilla was still fighting, pushing people back and forth while others laid on the ground, exhausted.

“Wasn't it one-on-one?”

“Nah, it can be as many contenders as you want.”

“What about the phone and card Reggie mentioned before?”

“These are classified as special Jungle Madness so you don't need to do that thing, but you're required to do one specific action to signal to others that you're joining.”

“I see…”

The husky pulled out a small bag out of his hoodie and pulled a donut, “You want one? I bought two. It was for Ryuu but he didn't show up.”

“You two best friends or something?” He asked, reluctantly taking the sweet from his paw.

“We randomly met online while playing a game two years before enrolling here so yeah, we're quite close.”

“I know it's sudden, but could you explain the level system to me? Reggie said he didn't know the details very well.”

“That's because it was recently updated.”

“Updated?”

“Basically every year they add something new to keep things fresh. I honestly really like it. It feels like a game, don't you think? I never thought I would say such things about a school!” He excitedly howled and instantly blushed. “Sorry…when I get excited I can't contain myself.”

“I don't mind! Please tell me what you know.”

“The level system goes from one to five. When you're first auditioned you start anywhere from level one to three. Four and five need to be earned during your school life. Level one is assigned to whoever does a poor job or fails their audition. The school thinks that even if you didn't do your best you still have something in you so they offer you this spot. Everyone in school labels them paid students. They're just lucky individuals who can't do anything and will ruin class performance. Usually there is only one paid student per class.”

“Are they stuck in that level or can they get out?”

“Actually getting out is easy for us but hard for them. The condition to earn a level two card is a display of talent. Show the school that you can do something and it's done, you get your level two.”

“Oh, okay.”

“You following? There is a lot of shit to take in. Maybe you should rent a manual and read it slowly.

“THERE’S A MANUAL?!”

“Yeah, but it's not that big. It should be around fifty, one hundred pages. Depends if the updated version is already out.”

“I thought it was going to be easier but no matter how interesting this is it's getting harder to memorize so many things. I just want to find the answer to what Yvonne told me.”

“What do you mean? Did she ask you to look for something?”

“She said that my mother was troubled by the level system but so far I haven’t found anything weird…”

“Troubled? That's odd. The level system actually makes a student's life easier thanks to the bonuses we earn by leveling up.”

“Reggie mentioned that. Do you think there's something that could make my mom worried?”

“That's the funny part. There is nothing of the sort; it's the other way around. From level two to level five you get discounts that increase as you level up.”

When he finished his explanation everything clicked. Yvonne didn't mention the problem, she mentioned what he could've done to help his mom.

“Arthur! Tell me how much your family pays.”

The dog blinked for the unusual question, “Uh…I think five hundred dollars every month?”

“That's a lot…”

“And I have the level three discount! Paid students gotta give one thousand dollars to the school every month,” he chuckled.

“...ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?!” The panda panicked, clutching his jacket.

“Woah buddy, calm down. Yes, I'm sure, but it's not like you're level one! That Jungle Madness you did ensured you level two or three.”

Nova thought about it but everything would fit only if he were level one. He quickly understood why his mother was so worried. She didn't know if Marvin alone could've sustained all the things they needed. The polar bear had been fiddling with a calculator when he walked in.

“One more question Arthur. Is it possible to level up before the payment in order to reduce it?”

“Yup, absolutely. We pay the first day of each month, so if you need to level up you have around three weeks. Everyone hurried to do that as soon as they knew.”

The panda let him go and exhaled, relieved. He found his priority for the time being.

“I gotta go back to Yvonne then. She knows my level right?”

“I guess she does.”

Nova looked out of the window again. He saw only two animals left and one of them was Reggie, yet the huge crowd of students chanting for the one they wanted to win truly stood out to him. He didn't understand why it was normal now. When he was standing in the cafeteria they looked so puzzled, like it wasn't supposed to happen. Nova started to wonder if he was the problem.

“Am I overthinking this?” He questioned out loud, raising doubt.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing… Maybe I just need to get used to this place, that's all.”

Arthur said what he's done gained him popularity but he felt like there was something else in the air. Things weren't right and it seemed like a joke after everything he's witnessed so far.  
Nova woke up in front of the headmistress’ door after wandering inside his mind. He returned to reality when his brain registered the information that her door was now locked.

“Why is it locked?” The panda muttered as he desperately tried to break through.

“Really? She usually stays in her office when it's break time.” He quickly unlocked his phone. “Maybe there is a Jungle Madness going on where she's the judge?”

A few taps on the smartphone denied his theory. “Okay nevermind, nothing is scheduled for now. Maybe she had something urgent to do?”

Nova slammed on the door with both his fists and head as he realized the reason why she wasn't in her office anymore. “Fuck…it's because I told her about Cody. I can't believe she just left to bring him a vow of silence.”

“Sounds like a leaky case, huh? Guess that is a valid reason to leave the office.”

He didn't like the idea of wasting an entire day. If he really has been assigned to level one he preferred to know ASAP so that he could already start climbing to level three.

“Arthur…”

“Cheer up buddy! You sound so depressed.”

“Maybe a bit. I just hate when things happen behind my back. Come on, tell me what's going on! I don't wanna solve your damn riddle to know what I need to do! It feels like you wanted me to go away so you could sneak out!”

“I have no idea what are you talking about.”

“I know you don't just let me talk. It makes me feel better.”

“Oh, okay. If you say so.”

Nova stared at him, upset. “Okay, you know what?” He caught the glimpse of sarcasm in his answer. “Just tell me if there is something else I should do before I discover it too late!”

“Lemme think. Yvonne will give you the card. Ryuu will be your temporary teacher. Melody will provide you the official uniform. Melissa will give you the Jungle Madness app. Natalie will craft you the school badge. I think that's all you need.”

“So I need to meet these three huh?” He responded, scratching his chin. “The sooner the better I guess.”

“Right now, Natalie is wandering around somewhere probably fighting someone so leave it be. Ask her once we see her in class. Melissa is the 1C guardian and during break guardians gather in a room for their daily meeting. Maybe we can catch her later when break is almost over. Melody though should be free and waiting for you inside her little workshop.”

“What do you mean she's waiting for me?! I didn't know she existed until now!”

“It was part of Ryuu's job. He would've let you explore the school and then organize meetings with all of them during the day. I'm starting to get worried though. He wouldn't let you wander all alone like this…”

“Maybe something important came up?”

“I guess I'm overthinking this. He'll come back soon, probably.”

“Okay, tell me where this Melody is. Who knows? Maybe she has seen him somewhere.”

“Second floor, follow me!”

The husky raised his paw in excitement; he enjoyed the leader position.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Upset, Nova twitched his nose. They walked through an entire crowd of students that were glaring at him, moved through two floors of stairs making him breathless, yet Melody’s workshop wasn't even close to the entrance. It was positioned at the end next to the stairs for the third floor. He saw a lot of empty classrooms and unused space. He shivered thinking about how many floors this school had. Just the thought of his class being on the top floor crushed him.

“We're here!” Arthur shouted, stopping in front of the same looking door every other past class had.

“You alright? You look weird.”

“Ah don't worry. It's my soul. I lost it on the way here.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just knock…”

The husky extended his paw and gently hit the door a few times.

“I'm free, I'm free! Come on in!” A feminine voice yelled from the other side.

Arthur pushed the door and walked inside followed by Nova.

The panda took a look around. The place didn't resemble a small workshop at all. He felt like he had entered a clothing shop, and a fancy one at that. The walls were decorated with every kind of clothes hanging from them. From the most casual attire to the most elegant; the place showcased them all.

Nova wasn't really an expert, but judging by the tools and machines scattered around the table they must've been high quality.

He touched the closest dress next to him with his paw. The level of detail surprised him with how soft and well kept it was no matter its location.

Arthur waved his paw at him, signaling the panda to come closer. He was standing in front of the biggest desk placed in the furthest end of the room. A newspaper he thought stood perfectly still on top amazed him until he realized someone behind the paper was holding it.

“Hello! Finally you're here! I've been waiting for-"

The small meerkat moved the newspaper out of the way and stopped half way, her sentence dying when she didn't see Ryuu but Arthur.

“What are you doing here? Where's the other one? I mean there is still a canine in front of me but, you know, I was waiting for the dark and threatening wolf, not a bright and cheesy dog.”

The small meerkat wore a bright hoodie that seemed sewed together connecting pieces that didn't belong to each other. Her jeans instead were green and ripped everywhere.

“Ryuu kind of…disappeared since the beginning of the break hour.”

“But that's when we met each other!”

Nova walked past the dog and approached the meerkat. “You did?!”

“Yeah! I had to work on some commissions so I'm allowed to get to the courtyard before break hour starts to have some food and that's when I met him.”

“Was he alone? What was he doing?”

“Actually…I'm not sure, but it looked like he was doing some shady shit. If I weren't so busy I would've loved to investigate more but I was running out of time. I grabbed today's school journal and left.”

“Who? Ryuu?” Arthur chimed in, skeptical, “I don't buy it. It's true that with his face everything looks dangerous but he's not a bad guy.”

“Hey, don't put words in my mouth. He was acting weird, even for his standards. That's all.”

The room went quiet. Arthur placed his paw on his chin, trying to find a reason behind what she witnessed. Melody started cleaning her desk, making some space around where she closed the newspaper. Nova spotted his own face on the first page. It was a photo of him someone took yesterday.

“What is that?! Gimme!” He snatched the journal out of her paws and read.

“No need to be so aggressive dude…” She complained while the panda focused on reading the article.

‘Yesterday an outsider successfully defeated Mrs. Dianne, head leader of the creativity division, in a Jungle Madness, obtaining the honor to join our ranks. Such an unforgettable and memorable event will be part of Wonder Phoenix history. Whoever didn't show up has to get their paws on the official recording the school compiled. Juicy information that everyone should know!’

“IT HAS BEEN RECORDED?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

“Every Jungle Madness classified as high will be recorded.” Melody shrugged off casually. “But I feel ya. That speech would embarrass the hell out of me too. That is, like, private stuff dude.”

Melody then pointed at another section in the next page. “I think there’s another thing you should know. I discovered it just now.”

Her serious expression alarmed him to hurry and read the next section.

‘Crocodile tears; the real face hidden behind a good smile. We learned from an anonymous source that those two pandas actually blackmailed our beloved teacher. The old panda and the peacock have been talking to each other alone thanks to his son’s acting. He pretended to faint in order to lure the students’ attention away from the criminal mind of his father. He forced the peacock into his evil schemes in order to conquer our hearts and organize the perfect plan to get his son inside. What a twist… The outsider is none other than a trap perfectly set and we all fell prey to it. Everyone please beware.’

The article kept going but Nova didn't feel like reading any further. The newspaper slipped through his paws and fell on the floor as he shivered. “What the fuck is this..?”

Arthur took the journal from the floor and started to read, curious to know what caused such a reaction.

“You tell me. Is this true?” Melody questioned, tilting her head.

“OF COURSE IT'S NOT! DO YOU REALLY THINK I FAKED EVERYTHING?!”

“It seems too elaborate to look like a plan devised beforehand.” she admitted. “But this shit can affect your reputation.”

Nova was going to ask her how many people read it and if he could've stopped this but he knew everything already.

“Who wrote this?”

“William for sure. He’s the school's journalist.”

“Where can I find him? I-I need to talk to him about these things.”

“That's going to be a little hard.”

“I don't care! Just tell me!”

“That little bat is always going after scoops and news to write in his newspapers. He is never in the same place because he follows interesting people, shares info under payment, and, during break hour, he’s, like, impossible to find.”

Nova, while she explained, started to pace in circles. “Fuck…my dad is not what that shitty paper says! He's a good man! I admit he can be a little clumsy and he's a little blind to others’ feelings, but my dad is really caring and a sweet person. I hate this so much! I don't want people to think bad of him or me.”

“Relax big guy. Wait outside his class once break hour ends and talk to him.”

The panda slumped to the ground, defeated. Everything he had bottled in his head started to erupt as Nova expressed his anxiety in a hysterical fashion no one was able to follow. “The entire school now thinks I'm a fake, a liar! That I just…put on a facade! I-I don't wanna stay here. I gotta leave. My family can't even sustain me! Why should I bother everyone now? Might as well leave right away!”

“Hey, hey, hey…calm down buddy. Everything's gonna be fine. You hear me?”

Arthur knelt down, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“We won't let you suffer like this for no reason. If they fucked you up we’ll fix you. You know this is a lie. We just need to crack it down.”

“Crack it down?! As if they would believe me now!”

“Not your words. Other people saw you. Not everyone thinks this is a lie. Do you think Fan would believe it? She's the one who knocked you down. What about Esmeralda? She looked after you while you were unconscious. Do you think she wouldn't notice you faking it?”

“They could think that my classmates are covering for me!”

“You can request the recordings of your Jungle Madness and use them to support yourself. There is nothing stronger than proof, am I right?” The meerkat stated, jumping off her desk. “So take a deep breath and scream.”

Nova stared at her, puzzled.

“What? That's the best way to cope when something unfair happens. You hold your breath and YOU SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS UNTIL ALL YOUR FRUSTRATIONS FADE AWAY!”

Exhausted, she relented to rest on her own knees. “That mixed feeling of satisfaction and tiredness makes your anger go away.”

“I already feel tired, like, drained. I'd like to lay on bed and just stay there all day…”

“Melody will cheer you up with the only thing she can do!” She smiled, running towards a closet next to the desk.

“I think Nova appreciates the effort but I don't believe clothes can help him out right now. He's not a girl you know-”

Arthur, amazed by what he sees, froze.

“Wow… What is that?”

“This, my dear doggy, is the new official school uniform that completely destroys the old fashioned style with a brand new look I created myself.”

She proudly showed two versions of the same outfit with different color palettes.

“I have prepared two versions out of three and I wasn't going to show them but I saw the situation and thought why not?”

“Those are so freaking cool. I want the black one.” The husky drooled, wagging his tail.

“Hey, these aren’t free. The school authorized them to be uniforms but I'm not forced to make a free uniform to all the students who already have one. You want the new model? You buy it.”

“Ah…fuck. I don't have money with me right now. How much?”

“70 dollars.”

“SERIOUSLY?! AND YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ONE TO HIM FOR FREE?!”

“No, not one. I'll give him all three models... If only I had the last one…” She muttered, “I was working on the last one but my artist struggles wouldn’t allow me to decide on a brighter color palette.”

“Why him?! Give them to me!”

“I didn't chose him because I wanted to gift my work, sweat, and blood to the first guy I crossed on the street! This guy right now is famous! Ignoring the issue at hand that he can fix later, he will give my uniform the attention it deserves.” Her eyes shined as she collected her tiny hands one against the other. “Everyone will buy a uniform from me.”

Nova slowly looked up and glanced over the uniforms. He did like them but the panda wasn't really feeling it.

The first uniform was a black jacket highlighted by white patterns around the edges. The Wonder Phoenix insignia positioned on the chest with two pockets at the bottom with shiny golden buttons. The T-shirt inside was white carrying the same logo and light gray trousers.

The second version carried the same elements but different colors. The jacket was blue with the same white decorations and logo, the T-shirt instead was identical and the trousers were light beige.

“What are you doing?! Stop!” Nova shouted, embarrassed. The husky tried to undress him to try the uniform on.

“I'm helping! Let's go behind that divider. I wanna see how good it looks on you!”

Arthur went behind and pushed him inside.

“Hey Melody, prepare the second version too! Gotta choose the best one.”

“Get your paws off of me! I'll do it by myself! I said stop!”

No matter what he said Nova couldn't shake him off and after a few minutes, he walked outside, showing Melody the final deal.

“Oh yeah. I rock baby!” She clapped, praising herself.

“How did you know my size?” Nova asked, turning around. He noticed how everything fit perfectly without a problem.

“Your Jungle Madness gave everything away,” she explained with a smug grin. “I have a keen eye for guessing sizes. I've been sewing clothes for every kind of shape. I’ve done bigger things. You were easy-peasy.”

“You look alright in the dark version but I think the other one would be best on you,” Arthur commented, moving in circles around him.

“The uniform is extremely comfortable I have to say, Melody. Good job,” Nova replied.

“Thanks to the school's funds I was able to afford high quality materials.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Let's get down to business. Nova, I'll get straight to the point. I want you to always wear my three uniforms for a month when you're on school grounds.”

“I don't mind, but my clothes are laying there. Can I start tomorrow?”

“No, I'd like you to start as soon as possible!” She quickly grabbed one of her backpacks, emptied it and handed it over to him. “Here use mine for today and give it back to me tomorrow. Remember that you're not allowed to wander outside school with your uniform on that's why you gotta carry a bag with your daily clothes.”

“That means I gotta change four times every day?!” He yelled.

“Four? What are you saying? You gotta change twice!” She replied, puzzled. “When you get here in the morning and when you leave in the afternoon.”

Arthur started to laugh as he realized what he meant. “He's also counting the morning when you wake up and night for sleeping.”

“Jeez, are you serious?” She crossed her arms. “I heard pandas were lazy but this is too much.”

“What happens if I refuse?” Nova questioned.

“I'll be forced to make another uniform in the old style, unless you wanna pay for the new version.”

“Oh no, no, no! Nova trust me the old uniform is ugly! I have no idea who designed it but even someone like me, who doesn't care about clothes, would never wear it unless forced.” The husky shook his head in disgust. “Take the opportunity. It's free!”

“Right now my family can't really afford to buy me extra things…” He sighed, looking down at the paper. “Okay, I'm in.”

The panda took the pen and signed.

“Amazing!” She screamed, grasping his paws in excitement. “Thank you! Thank you so much for helping me out!”

The meerkat rushed away, jumping inside a chest. She started pulling all kinds of fabrics with the brightest colors. Melody stared at them for a few moments before throwing them away.

“What are you doing now?” Arthur said, peeking inside.

“Hey! Get out! No sneaky hints here! I'm already working! Take Nova, his stuff I packed inside the bag, and leave!” She scolded, pushing him away by pressing against his nose.

“Alright, alright… We're leaving.” The husky rolled his eyes, stuffed his paws inside his trousers’ pockets and headed for the door.

“Melody, I wanted to thank you for what you did. You've been really kind. I'm sorry for letting myself go like that in front of you,” Nova apologized, placing the backpack on his back.

“You know what I think?” She began, turning to him. “Whoever believes such lies will instantly understand their mistake. Now go, you have a lot of things to do and so do I.” The meerkat dove back inside. “Have a good day!”

Nova and Arthur stepped outside into the hallway. He stared at his friend completely lost.

“What do we do now?” The panda glanced down, frightened. “I'd like to not move downstairs, I wanna avoid the students glaring at me.”

“We could walk back into the classroom then.” He checked the time on his phone. “Break is almost over so we could move there and finish the missing introductions.”

“I suppose that's the only thing I can do, can't I?”

Nova inhaled the bitter taste of defeat as he couldn't do anything but wait. The headmistress left to who-knows-where and he couldn't meet with the other students with this lie moving around the school.

“You-You hear that?!” Arthur raised his head towards the ceiling, alarmed.

“Did something happen?” The panda tilted his head, confused. The husky must've had more sensible ears and perceived something that slipped Nova’s attention.

“It was a thud sound. Extremely unusual. Felt like something just suddenly fell onto the floor,” he explained with great precision.

“And your point is?” He shrugged, “Maybe someone on the third floor dropped something.”

“The third floor should be empty right now.”

“Maybe a teacher? Someone like Melody working on its personal room?”

“The teacher's lounge is on the first floor. The workshops on the third floor haven't been assigned yet.”

“What about-"

“Shh, listen.”

Arthur covered his mouth and placed him closer to the wall. Nova started to hear a camera's flash at regular intervals every five seconds.

“What the…”

“I would recognize this sound everywhere.” He narrowed his eyes as he ran on all four towards the third floor.

“Wait for me!” The panda yelled as he chased after him.

Nova couldn't handle stairs and running at the same time. He took a few deep breaths while his heart screamed inside his chest. Arthur didn't wait for him. He quickly climbed to the next floor leaving him behind.

Luckily for the panda, Arthur didn't go that far and after resting a few moments to collect enough strength to push through he found him standing still at the beginning of a crossroad.

“So?” He panted, “What did you find?”

The husky didn't reply. He was frozen in place, staring on the right towards something.

“Oh my god…” Nova covered his paws, shocked as he turned in the direction Arthur was looking. “Somebody help him!”

“R-RYUU!” The husky hurried to him when another camera flash hit them, his panic quickly faded and switched to adrenaline.

On the left there was a small bat laying on the edge of a window holding a camera in his tiny claws. He was still snapping photos everywhere and scribbling stuff on his notebook.

On the left was Ryuu who had disappeared for the entire break hour, with half of his face covered in blood. He didn't look moved at all by the situation but he did touch it to confirm he was actually bleeding. It felt unreal. Nova didn't want to believe it. He knew that this school was crazy but hurting someone else like that? He couldn't accept it. There is no excuse for such behavior.

He didn't trust Ryuu and his facade. He was sure that whoever did that to him it must've hurt like hell.

“Why is Nova here?!” He yelled, spotting him behind Arthur, his eyes hinting at a reaction.

“Who fucking cares?! You need help!” Nova replied worriedly, pulling out a tissue. “Who did this to you?!”

“None of your business,” he coldly replied. “You shouldn't be here with him. Leave.”

“We need to go back to the first floor. Naomi will patch you up before this gets infected.”

He dragged Ryuu away. Nova and the wolf exchanged looks when they walked past each other. “Nova, please stay here while I bring him to her.”

The panda froze completely, utter fear in his eyes. Ryuu saw that and struggled free from his grasp.

“I'll patch myself up here. I have other things to do. I can't waste time!” He hurried inside the class closest to him.

“Ryuu, what the hell…” Arthur muttered as he followed him inside.

The bat flapped his wings and flew after them.

Nova stood there in silence. He had had enough. The words he heard before echoed inside his mind.

‘This place is not what it seems.’

The confusion in his mind grew further when an unknown voice spoke through the speakers.

“The break hour will be extended one hour further. A Jungle Madness of high priority will begin in thirty minutes.”

“Why do I have an ominous feeling about this…?” He whispered, inching towards the classroom.


	4. Soft heart

Nova couldn't say a word while Arthur patched up Ryuu's wound. They were both screaming at each other, trying to get info from one another to no avail. The more they fought, the more pain the panda struggled to contain.

“Stop moving!” The husky yelled, trying to still the wolf on a chair. 

“I can do that myself if I need to!” He replied, attempting once again to sneak away from an alcohol dampened cotton ball meant to remove the dried blood from Ryuu's face and disinfect it.

“No you won't! I know you.” He pushed him back, “There's something you don't wanna show us, that's why you're acting like this!”

“That's none of your business. I don't have to tell you anything.”

Ryuu roared louder when the alcohol touched his wound, slowly calming himself down and allowing the dog to fix him up.

“Oh shit…” He stepped back, trying to get a better look at him and his face, “Look at that…”

“You happy now?” He grunted, “That's what you wanted to see. How do you feel now?!”

Three bright, red, vertical cuts across his left eye were what remained as a small amount of blood trickled down from where Arthur treated the wound. It was clear that someone had attacked him, digging their fangs into the left side of his face. The cuts were deep enough that they would scar around his eye after healing, but he was lucky that the eye itself was left untouched, probably thanks to a last moment reaction where he stepped away during the attack.

“You still didn't answer me!” Arthur pried, “Who is responsible for this?!”

Ryuu turned away as his friend moved closer.

“Do you know that these signs won't go away?! Unlike you, I've taking first aid classes! I'm sure you'll get permanent scars out of it!”

“Who cares," he scoffed, “It's not like people interact with me anyway.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”

“It means that I don't care!”

Arthur, full of hate and regret, raised his paw. He couldn't stand him and his bland reaction to such critical situation.

“Please…don't.” Nova begged, holding his paw back, “He is already hurt! What are you trying to do?”

Arthur shrugged him off, let Ryuu go and turned his back to them. “He isn’t talking to me! What the hell am I supposed to do?!”

“I-I don't know!” The mediator stuttered in fear, “But more violence isn't the answer!”

A laugh broke the tense atmosphere, followed by a flapping sound of wings and a few snaps of a camera.

An orange bat in a grey suit smiled viciously at him, landing on top of the closest chair inside the classroom. “That's a weird sentence coming from you Nova.”

“You are the one who writes the journal, right?” 

Nova kinda knew already, having met the other when Ryuu was wounded; however, he gave first priority to his friend since he truly didn’t know how to handle both. 

“I'd like to exclude the possibility that you haven't heard of meyet,” the reporter remarked arrogantly. “Not after the latest news I spread around.”

Nova didn't know how to react. It felt like he was trying to make him do something, to reply back, but nothing came out. He was hurt.

“I'm William, the school's journalist and Gossip King; the one who decides what's true and what's false. Nice to meet you, panda,” he bragged, swirling his wings open, showing off his body.

“I don't have time for this bullshit right now,” Ryuu interrupted, walking past everyone towards the exit.

“Where are you going?! I need to apply some bandages at least!” Arthur complained while holding a box.

“Hey…Ryuu,” Nova shyly called his name, getting his attention instantly as if he had some sort of priority on him, “That Jungle Madness announced before…”

“Yes, it's about me,” he admitted, glancing down, “That's why I need to go.”

“So that's how it is!” The husky caught his paw, “You're challenging the bastard who hurt you! If you were going to make him pay why didn't you say so sooner!?”

“You must be really stupid to think that…” Ryuu muttered, pushing his paw away.

The wolf, finally free to move around, reached the door and opened it.

Arthur was determined to chase after him; no matter what he was going to know what happened and why he disappeared.

Nova, instead, didn't want to pursue the same course of action, “Please take care of yourself…” He said, knowing that he needed some space and time to think by himself about whatever he was going through .

“You're a stubborn one, Nova,” the bat chuckled, writing things down in a notebook. “I wonder how long you'll keep your facade going.”

The panda tilted his head, confused. He had no idea what he was talking about, but he preferred to focus on his objective for now. “Since you're here. I wanted to talk about the newspaper you wrote about me.”

Ryuu's ears twitched catching something that captured his attention. “A newspaper?” He repeated turning towards them, giving away that he somehow already knew about it.

“What's wrong Ryuu? Don't you have any idea to what he's referring to?” He flew around, giggling.

“You mother-” The wolf charged back inside, running straight for the bat that dodged him, flying high towards ceiling, “-fucker…”

The canine’s eyes met the others just to see their confusion rise further, yet he stayed quiet.

“What’s going on?” Nova asked, walking towards Ryuu, “Did you know about that article too?”

The bat landed on one of the lights that hung from the ceiling, “I see, I see, now things make sense,” he whispered, “But if that’s the case then there is a hole somewhere in the story.”

“William, get down and tell us what you know!” Arthur demanded, pointing at Ryuu.

William grabbed the edge of the lamp with his tiny feet and positioned himself upside down, “If you wanna know you have to pay me. News isn’t free, you should know that.”

“I-I can pay!” Nova chimed in, raising his head to have a better look at him, “If that’s what you want…”

“Nah, don’t rush it. That’s his price for the information. If it’s you who’s asking I have a better proposal.” He smiled, letting the lamp go.

“You, my special friend, are juicy gossip material. I wanna squeeze out all the possible profit you can give me,” the bat continued as he landed on his shoulder with grace.

Nova felt extremely uncomfortable. The guy wasn’t really showing his best and friendly side to him.

“Okay…” He inhaled, pretending that everything was fine, “You have my attention. What do you want?”

“It’s a trade. You give me what I need and I give you what you need. Pretty simple and fair.”

“Nova, no.” Ryuu walked up and brushed the bat off his should, “Don’t listen to him. He never does anything fair; every trade made, William always has the advantage. He must’ve seen something he can exploit.”

“Why don’t you learn some manners instead?” He complained, flapping around them, “I’m not a fly you can push away!”

“I wish you were just an annoying fly.” The wolf replied, “You’re more like a leech.”

“Hmph,” William scoffed, upset, “Fine. I’ll prove to him that I’m not messing around.”

He cleared his throat, sitting on a desk, “Before the beginning of break hour, I was in the courtyard ready to sell my newest newspaper to the students when Ryuu showed up.”

Nova glanced over to him noticing his clenching fists as William kept talking.

“Ignoring the fact that it was very suspicious of him, he comes to me, and guess what he asks? Oh, don't worry. You'll never guess. He did it behind your back.”

“Shut up you little bastard!” The wolf growled, upset to have his actions revealed.

“He came to me, handed over one hundred dollars and asked for all the newspapers I've prepared!”

“What?!” Arthur and Nova shouted together.

Nova couldn't believe it. He tried to prevent the news from spreading and used his own money to protect him.

“Is it true?” Nova repeated, “I don't know what to say…”

“Hey, wait a second! If he bought all the journals from you how did the students learn about the lie?” Arthur asked, doubting the authenticity of his claim.

“Listen up, doggy. I'm a professional guy. I don't say bullshit, it's against my code,” William replied, slightly offended.

“He has a code,” the husky laughed. “That's a good one.”

“If you all shut up for a second I can maybe explain how the news spread.” The bat flew towards Ryuu, searched through his pocket and handed back his fifty dollars.

“That's my money,” the canine confirmed, hesitant to take the bills. “Why are you giving it back?”

“The truth is I only sold you half of the newspapers I made. I couldn't tell you back then so I pretended to be out of stock until you went away. I was sure that you weren't going to leave until all of my journals were gone and I couldn't accept that such a scoop wouldn't go out to the public!”

“You fucking idiot!” Ryuu shouted, completely losing his cool, “How didn't you notice that you wrote a bunch of lies?! Are you fucking kidding me?!”

The bat, caught off guard, got captured by Ryuu's paw while he handed him over his money.

“So…he didn't do it on purpose?” Nova questioned, unsure of what he meant.

“No, this idiot isn't a liar. He doesn't imagine things! If he wrote those things it means that someone told him or something happened for him to see,” the wolf explained, “I didn't try to talk it out because he is too proud of his work. Let's be honest, he wasn't going to believe me anyway.”

“Okay, this is rather uncomfortable…” The perpetrator spoke up, trying to squirm out of his paw. “Can we talk this out?”

Nova placed a paw onto his arm, “Let him go…”

“Seriously? If you wanna fix this mess that's the only chance you've got right now.”

“Listen, I know you're upset but this isn't like you. I mean, I didn't get the chance to get to know you enough but I feel like you're getting overwhelmed by everything. I feel you.” The panda laughed it off, “I've been taking deep breaths from the moment I saw you covered in blood.”

“Tsk, fine.”

William struggled a bit to keep himself in the air when Ryuu set him free.

“The point is I was curious. I did predict that you or some fanboy of yours would come to me trying to protect what I have found, but when I saw Ryuu, well, I thought something wasn't right. I decided to do some research on my own and followed him for a while.” The bat laughed with a satisfied expression, “Little did I know I would come across another interesting scoop to write about!”

“I already regret letting him go,” Ryuu stated.

“That's the catch. You have a few things that are interesting to me.” He pointed at his uniform, “That's Melody's work, right? She has been a collaborator of mine for a while and I thought she would cancel the deal to use you as walking advertisement but she didn't.”

“Cut to the chase. I have things to do,” the wolf muttered, crossing his arms.

“You gotta build the tension!” He explained, “If you skip to the best part people won't read the filler. That's how it works in literature and stories.”

“Uhm… I'm sorry, but Ryuu is right. I'd like to be there when he's participating in his Jungle Madness,” Nova begged, still carrying a bad feeling about that thread. “If you need something from me let's do it now.”

“Way to kill the mood. Basically, I want an interview.”

Nova blushed, “Like the ones with a camera? Where I'll get recorded?”

“If you're not comfortable with that I can take notes instead. I don't mind.”

Ryuu’s eyes narrowed. “You're not the type to give up on those materials.”

“See? I really, really need to have a small chat with him. I'll see for myself if my newspapers spread lies.”

“I don't like this.” Ryuu asserted, “I'm coming with you.”

“I don't understand,” Arthur intervened, “I really can't follow you Ryuu. A moment ago you were so focused on pursuing your objective that not even me, your best friend, could change your mind or get anything from you. Why can Nova do what I can't?! Why does he deserve your attention?! What does he have that I don't?!”

William held back his laughter, “It's getting hot in here.”

“Wow, stop right there Arthur.” The wolf’s eyes widened, “What was that? Are you jealous of him.”

He blushed, stomping the floor with his right foot. “No! That's not it! I feel like you're pretty close to him, probably more than me. I always thought you would tell me everything! You know, I wanted you to trust me, to share your problems with me just like I do, but you never have…”

“Arthur…”

“Do you have any idea how useless I feel?!” He yelled, leaning closer, “You always do your best for me. Whenever I feel down you always do something indirectly to cheer me up because that's the type of guy you are. You never admit the good things you do. It would be hypocritical to say that I don’t know why you focus on, and are interested in Nova…”

“Oh god…Arthur.” Nova chimed in, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do this to you…”

The husky softly smiled, masking his sadness, “See? That's why he goes after you. You're a good guy, Nova. Don't apologize when you haven't done anything. It's not your fault.” He turned around, facing the door, “It’s probably mine for not being able to provide enough for him to open up. Seems like you will though. I saw it. He will open up to you.”

The room went silent, the only exception being the creaking sound of the door as it closed in front of them.

“Hey Nova…” Ryuu began after a few moments, “Do you mind if I-”

“Go. What are you waiting for? I’ll be fine!” Nova smiled, giving him a thumbs up, “Promise.”

The wolf nodded and headed towards the door. He suddenly stopped when his eyes landed on the box Arthur was holding before running away. Ryuu ducked down and took some bandaids from it, stuffed them in his pocket, and then exited the room.

“We’re alone now,” the panda observed, turning towards the bat, “Where do we have this inter-”

He froze, amazed by how fast William was writing things down inside the notebook he carried along.

“What do you think Nova?!” He suddenly stopped to flip the page, “Is there something more than friendship?!”

Nova understood now; this is why he was called the Gossip King.

“I, uh, I don't know. I've been around Arthur and Ryuu for like a few hours, I think?” The panda blabbered back, surprised by how serious he was about it.

“I see.” He laughed with a malicious smile, “At least I know what to do later.”

The panda pretended not to understand and shook everything off, “Can we start this interview already?”

“Okay, sure,” he casually replied, reverting back to his usual self.

Nova was just speechless at this point.

“We're not doing it here though.” 

The bat flew through the window, crossing the hallway. The panda didn't have time to talk since he was too far out of reach, forcing him to catch up.

“This way!” William signaled, shaking his hand.

“I need to tell you something!” He exclaimed only to be utterly ignored.

The bat pulled out a silver card from his jacket and swiped it through some sort of scanner that Nova wasn't close enough to see.

“Shhh,” William muttered as he landed on the ground, “I have limited time. Talk when we arrive.”

Nova wanted to avoid encounters with others students so long as the lies remained present, but William wouldn't listen to his simple request. Maybe he would lose interest if he refused to go with him?

Suddenly, the bat started to meddle with his phone, quickly tapping a series of numbers and making a call.

“Hey Leo, I need a favor. Something important is going on here. Bring the three leaders to my place. I'll fill you in with the details at the usual place.” He waited for an answer before responding, “I'm taking the private elevator since I can't fly there.”

“Wait…private elevator?” Nova blinked, surprised.

His expression sunk down in a new level of unexpected when the walls in front of them literally opened to show the inside of it. The doors were perfectly painted to camouflage itself. He didn't question it further but it was cool.

“What are you waiting for?!” He yelled, calling him from the inside, “We gotta finish this before your mutt’s Jungle Madness!”

Nova had questions about the elevator. Just hearing that it was private truly wasn't enough for him to understand. A simple student was using something that wasn't meant for him.

The panda also noticed the card color. It was a new one, different from the ones Ryuu or Reggie owned. He excluded the chance of the journalist being a lower level; William didn't look like someone who would own a level two card. It must've been a level four or higher.

The bat kept rambling on the phone for the entire trip. It was unsettling as if he was trying to convey a message without Nova catching on to him, but the panda felt too awkward to notice such a thing. He was trying not to listen, actually, because it wasn't his business.

“Oh wow, I didn't notice there was a building on top of it…”

The elevator opened to reveal a small patch of closed grass in the middle of the school. Nova looked around and confirmed that the area was sealed off. There were four different elevators on all the walls surrounding the place. If they were all private, this place could only be accessible to those who ride the elevator or by students who can fly.

“I'll be doing my preparations inside," William quickly explained, taking off, “I'll see you soon at my tree house!”

Nova gaped, amused. He followed the bat with his eyes as he reached the huge building that perfectly matched the shape of the strong looking oak. It's true that he avoided student encounters, but they were all wandering in hallways around him. It wouldn't take long for someone to glimpse out of a window and spot him.

Nova strode quickly towards the huge tree and groaned, “Oh, seriously…”

The panda sighed, discovering that the only way to access the treehouse was to climb a ladder casually placed on the oak. It felt like they didn't even bother making it safe.

His face went blank when, ignoring all of the warnings bells, he stepped onto it and the ladder slightly gave in to his weight. It was no good. This time, Nova placed one foot on a rung. If it was meant to break he preferred for it to happen now, closer to the ground. 

“I swear it feels like this is some sort of trap.”

He moved on the ladder and shook his body up and down to check its endurance, surprised that it didn't break.

“Okay, I'll give it a try…” He breathed in, hoping that it wouldn't give while he climbed.

Nova's eyes widened as he yelled. The ladder started to move on its own while he went up, shaking left to right like some sort of rope.

“WHAT'S GOING ON? HELP! I'M SLIPPING!” He cried out loud.

The ladder, as if hearing his voice, suddenly stilled and returned back to being an inanimate object.

Nova, now hyperventilating, quickly climbed to the top, sat down, and tried as hard as possible to calm the storm inside his chest.

“Oh, finally!” The bat complained, flying around him, “What took you so long?! We won't have enough time if you keep wasting time admiring the scenery!”

Nova gulped, trying to breathe and make space to fit in an excuse, “I-I wasn't…”

“Just go inside and rest for a few minutes. I'll join you soon…” William rolled his eyes, looking at the panda slowly getting up and moving away.

He took his notebook and scribbled something within.

“Interesting behavior. I wonder why Dianne hates this child so much.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Yvonne did her best trying to follow the instructions her family gave, but it was impossible to perfectly contain all information inside. Some elements were destined to leak out and there was nothing they could do to stop it. The lioness created the Vow of Silence for all of her students and outsiders around the school. That was the best course of action when William started to become a show off last year.

“I want to broadcast my interviews live,” he remarked with excitement.

“What you're demanding is a difficult request, William. Are you aware that if I decide to support your project I will not prevent outsiders from hearing them.”

“They will be interviews! Nothing related to the school will pop up! Even better, I will be sure to censor those arguments and make it harder for whoever isn't inside school grounds.”

“William, I understand your feelings, but I'm afraid I-"

“So that's how it is? I thought the school would promote it! ISN'T THAT WHAT THIS PLACE IS ALL ABOUT? WHY IS MY DREAM LESS IMPORTANT THAN EVERYONE ELSE'S?!”

“William.”

“...I apologize.”

“I'll approve it—"

“Really?!”

“—but I have a few rules that you must not bypass, otherwise I will intervene.”

“Y-Yes Headmistress. Thank you so much!”

… 

The bat, thinking back to that moment, knew this interview was going to be hard for him to execute. Everything needed to abide by the rules she listed, which is the reason why he called for help before.

“Reggie, this is essential,” William spoke through the phone, “Are you and your friends in position or not?! I need to start this!”

“Reggie almost there," the gorilla said, sprinting outside, “My friends are ready.”

“Good. Remember that this is important for Nova, so do your job.”

Reggie didn't have time to speak before he ended the call.

“Reggie always helps! Me sorry for leaving him behind, Reggie will atone.”

The gorilla jumped down, landing in front of a group of outsiders that were walking around the perimeter, “Are you residents?!”

One of them, a female cat, stumbled backwards, scared by the primate’s threatening appearance and loud voice.

“Hey dude, calm down…” A brown dog spoke up, placing himself in between them while simultaneously offering the cat a safe place.

“Me and my friends were just passing by!” A panda explained, “There's no reason to attack us like this!”

“Reggie sorry, me thought you wanted to eavesdrop,” the gorilla quickly apologized, seeing the tension he created.

The panda turned his back and pushed his friends along, somehow disappointed.

“Jeez Stevie, that is the school you wanted to apply to? Thank God they didn't accept you,” the dog muttered, holding the cat.

“That weirdo scared the shit out of me…”

“Trust me that's not what the school is like!” He desperately tried to defend himself while they all disappeared behind a building.

“TESTING, TESTING, ONE, TWO, THREE. IS IT WORKING?” William's voice blared strong and loud from a speaker mixed to the tapping sound of a microphone.

“TODAY WE’LL HAVE A SURPRISE, OUT OF SCHEDULE INTERVIEW WITH A SPECIAL STUDENT! YOU GUYS KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT! IF YOU DON'T THEN YOU MUST BE SLOWER THAN A TURTLE AND LAZIER THAN A SLOTH! NOVA THE PANDA, EVERYONE!”

Reggie turned around, staring at the loudspeaker positioned inside school grounds in the gym. “Me doesn't know why the interview is important to Nova, but Reggie will help nonetheless!”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Inside, treehouse looked more like a normal office placed on top of a strong oak than a normal hideout meant for young children.

He walked inside a big hall with sofas and armchairs all around an oval shaped table in the middle. A camera, several papers and photos were scattered on top of it.

What really caught his attention was the equipment further in the back: big audio panels, a huge keyboard with several buttons and levers, a comfortable chair, a microphone and a headset. There was a thick glass that separated the controls from another small room only accessible from a door to the left. It reminded him of a studio musicians use to record music; a perfectly soundproofed space safe from outsiders’ interference.

Nova had entered the place having no clue where to go. He wanted to ask but was unable to, more concerned with conquering his hyperventilation at the moment.

“So…you ready?” William flew past him and landed in front of the room he was looking at. Weird control panels he couldn't identify with lots of buttons lined the walls accompanied by strange equipment setups.

“I guess so?” He answered, unsure of the connection between some sort of audio room and his interview.

“Good.” He pressed a button that unlocked the door, “Get in.”

“Is this really necessary? For an interview?”

“That room is perfectly soundproofed. I will be able to talk through this microphone and listen with this headset,” the bat quickly explained. “I thought you wanted it to be private. You know that there are students who work to steal information or spread bad rumors about others? It's extremely important to keep your privacy safe. On school grounds, unfortunately, it can't be protected unless you have the right tools.”

Nova rose a brow, “Spreading lies just like you?”

“First of all, you haven't proven anything yet! We'll see who's right!” The bat wore the headset and pointed again to get inside.

The panda was suspicious, but couldn't argue back. He was the one holding the knife and another stab in the back wouldn't help his cause.

“You hear me?” William questioned as soon as Nova closed the door, “Sit on that chair so we can begin our interview. I'll give you a quick explanation of how I work to not waste anymore time.”

The room was mostly empty. There was a comfortable armchair in the middle, two speakers on top from where William's voice came through, and a black screen. He wondered what purpose it had, but didn't focus on it too much.

“It has to be a quick exchange Nova. Don't add extra details if I don't ask for them. When the question starts with true or false, you just need to deny or confirm. For more complicated questions where you need to talk don't worry, I will let you speak. Just wait for me and say only the most important part.”

He nodded, “Uhm…okay, I'll try.” 

“Sometimes I will ask questions that you don't need to answer yourself though.”

“Huh?”

“Like…you see that screen in front of you? It will turn on with the answer you have to say.”

“I'm really confused. Why do I have to do that? It feels like someone's watching.”

“No, that's not it.” He pondered for a few moments, “I focus entirely on you during the interview, writing things down as fast as I can. I wanted to add some extra things that won't affect your situation, and if you read them to me I won't be distracted while working.”

“If it's not related to me then it's fine, but I will double check the text before saying it out loud,” Nova remarked. “That should be fine, right?”

“I have nothing to hide,” the bat affirmed. “You depend too much on Ryuu's judgment if you ask me.”

It was obvious now that there was a second objective for him in this game they were playing, but Nova wasn't in the position to demand anything. The only thing that mattered now was getting rid of those rumors and fixing his image.

“I…can't hear you William,” Nova said, seeing him moving around while presumably screaming things at him, “Maybe you pressed something by mistake?”

The bat froze, looked around and pressed a switch. “Oh… guess I must've hit it with my wing before. So…you ready? Can we start?”

“Sure.”

A weird, red light turned on from William’s side as he started to speak, “Let's start by telling me some basic info about you: name, age, some background of yours—people love knowing more than they need to.”

“My name is Nova, I'm fifteen years old and I'm a panda. I like—"

“Hold it right there you liar.”

“What are you talking about? I didn't lie!”

“Omitting information in my eyes is just another form of lying.”

Nova sighed, “I don't like saying it... I'm a hybrid. My mom is a polar bear and my father is a panda. The only way to notice is to look at my paws, but I usually hide them in my pockets and try to show them as little as possible.”

“Is that the only marking that classifies you as hybrid?”

“No, it isn't. My feet are also white but I try to not think about it. Unfortunately, I can't hide those. I used to wear shoes but god they're uncomfortable.”

“See? That's better.” William extended his wing to grab another notebook, “According to my investigation you just transferred into this city. Give me more details.”

Nova widened his eyes. He didn't mention it to anyone yet, he wondered how he obtained that information.

“Uhm…yes, it's true. I used to live in a small countryside city called Grofield. My father earned a promotion after working inside an office for ten years and we moved here a few weeks ago.”

“Interesting. So you're saying that you weren't aware of the existence of this school? It was just a necessity from your family.”

“Yes, I learned about this school the very moment me and dad moved around the city to look for a suitable place for me to attend. It was a small article inside a newspaper.”

“I see, I see. Tell me then, what brought you here?”

Nova noticed how William was steadily inching towards his true objective. The panda glanced down, trying to be true to himself and admit the truth.

“Nothing.”

William winced, caught off guard, “None?! What are you saying?!”

“It was my father's will. I didn't mind which school I attended,” he replied, holding his knees tighter.

“Are you kidding me? You just said you read an article about the school! That means you knew that this school would ensure you education, work and a safe environment to develop hobbies that can also be used for working purposes!”

“I'm truly sorry for what I'm going to say but…I have no objective. My hobbies are worthless and will never be job material. I couldn't find anything that inspired me. Until now… everything I've done was for my family. What do you expect from me? I just wanted to spend time with my friends, study, work and live an average life.”

The bat shook it off with a laugh, “Wow, I truly wasn't expecting this.”

“I'm sorry. I may have said too much.”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?!”

An unknown voice yelled through the speaker. Nova raised his head from the floor and saw a tiger holding the microphone.

“Hey…Patrice! You were supposed to show up later!” The bat cried out from behind while a lion and a marmot appeared as well.

“ANSWER ME!” He angrily shouted.

“...I'm here for my family. I'm here to satisfy them. They think this is where I should be.”

“YOU SHOULD JUST LEAVE-"

The lion interfered, moving him away from the microphone, “This is getting out of control. Patrice, I'd like you to calm yourself down for the time being. I sympathize with your feelings but I don't support such an aggressive approach.”

The tiger sat down and muttered something that wasn't caught by the microphone.

“Nova, please forgive our intrusion,” he spoke up, sitting at William's place, “We were supposed to show up later and ask you one question at a time, but the discussion escalated differently. Patrice is a personal trainer and, as such, can't stand people that carry a passive attitude like yours.”

“Oh, don't worry,” the bat reassured, writing things down, “I like this. Please keep going Leo, you have my permission.”

“I am Leo, an aspiring engineer. Ranked first last year in the intelligence category. I was looking forward to meeting you. Just like you I'm a second year student from 1A. William is a classmate of mine.”

“You didn't need to introduce yourself this much,” the bat complained.

“I apologize, but I find it extremely unfair that he isn't provided with at least some basic knowledge about me.”

Nova didn't know what to say anymore. What the tiger said wasn't wrong. He had no reason to stay here.

“Patrice believes that your presence here is offensive. Do you know why he believes that?”

“I...don't know.”

“Every summer thousands of young students try their best and challenge themselves to earn the right to be accepted in this school. You can only be the best or the worst. Those are the only ways you can be admitted; however, you simply skipped everything. You didn't fight, didn't compete, and have no aspirations nor hobbies that can be presented to the teachers. He wasn't upset about this though. We all witnessed your Jungle Madness and are all aware that if the headmistress allowed you to join, you must have something to offer. What really upsets him is that you're throwing it away. People would kill for the chance you've earned. You're disrespecting this school, its system, us students and whoever failed the audition. Patrice says that if you're not here because you want to be you should leave.”

“It's true that it wasn't my choice at first, but I decided to stay.”

“Why would you stay? You said yourself that you have nothing.”

“Because even if I said that my family believes in me. My friends are still reaching out to me even when they have their own problems to deal with! I… I DON'T WANNA BE ANOTHER BURDEN!

“I saw my mom hiding the quota of this school from me. Arthur told me how expensive it is. She knew that I would give up seeing it. She wanted to encourage me and I don't wanna let her down!” He stood up, “NO MATTER WHAT!”

“I do believe that your intentions are noble and honorable, Nova.” The lion smiled, turning back to the tiger, “If you're calm now…I'll let you speak.”

Patrice scratched his head and walked closer, “Sorry about that. I easily get riled up when I hear certain things.”

“You weren't wrong. I'm still really unsure and I can't decide what I want. You don't need to apologize. I should be the one-” He kneeled down, “to apologize.”

“No, dude, please, I don’t like this,” the feline stuttered. “You don’t need to humiliate yourself like that.”

“I promise you here and now that I’ll work hard. I wanna use this school to discover myself. I wanna explore all the possibilities I have! I will not let this chance wasted.” He continued, ignoring his demands.

The tiger moved towards the door but the marmot jumped on the handle, “Stop right there Patrice. He isn’t acting like this to earn your forgiveness. He is acting like this to push himself further,” she explained, smacking away his paw.

“Okay, but it’s not necessary to go that far,” he complained, shaking the paw hurt by her.

She jumped on the controls making sure to avoid pressing them, and took the microphone. “You nurture a large insecurity in your heart. That’s why I didn’t agree on their final decision. You can’t expect to obtain any success if you’re never sure of what to do. Please reflect on what happened here and keep your word; improve yourself.”

“This interview was AMAZING!” The bat screamed in excitement, “Absolutely not what I planned but who cares! This was way better! The bad side is that apparently I did write lies.”

“William, it’s almost time.” The lion pointed at the clock, “We gotta start packing up.”

“Wait, there's one last thing I need to do.” He flew towards the microphone, “Nova, may I ask you about your new uniform? Did Melody make that?”

The television inside the soundproofed room turned on and words appeared. The panda slowly got back up but he didn't feel like doing it anymore.

“Everyone will see it during the Jungle Madness. There is no need to make some dumb advertisement.”

The lion pressed the same switch, turning the television off, and pushed the button William pressed at the start, making turning the red light off. “I think it's enough.”

“But I promised Melody-"

“She's a good tailor, she won't need it. Besides, look at him. Nova is drained out, so don't push this too much.”

He crossed his wings, giving himself a few seconds to elaborate, “Fine…”

“I mean it's not like you have a crush on Melody or something,” the lion smirked.

William’s fur went from orange to bright red, “You bastard! You needed to say that, didn't you?!” He whined, flying around him, giving Leo small hits on the head that weren't strong enough to cause actual damage.

The lion smiled, catching his friend, “Let's go. The Jungle Madness is about to start. I'm curious to see who's challenging who.”

The feline moved everyone towards the exit but the tiger stood there, staring at the panda who was just as paralyzed.

Patrice’s eyes narrowed as he forced his words out, “HEY! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU GOTTA DO IT RIGHT NOW! YOU GOT IN. YOU DID IT ALREADY, YOU DON'T NEED TO PUT YOURSELF DOWN! NO ONE THINKS YOU'RE A FAILURE!”

Nova's eyes widened as he raised his head to glance back at him.

He smirked, “Why so surprised? The first step to change is acknowledging your mistakes, so yeah! You're already doing great!” Patrice extended his arm and made a thumbs up, “Keep up the good work panda.”

The feline put a card on the chair and hurried outside, “Left elevator, first floor!”

Nova slowly opened the door and moved out of the prison they had locked him in. He sat on down, examined the card Patrice left behind, and spaced out. He wouldn't even try to fully understand the utter confusion happening to him.

“THE JUNGLE MADNESS WILL SHORTLY BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES. ALL STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO JOIN AT THE COURTYARD,” a voice shouted from a speaker outside the treehouse.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The courtyard was completely changed. Tables and small stands created for recreational activities replaced by a big wrestling ring surrounded by benches. The area squirmed with people as the countdown to start continued towards zero. Meanwhile, took the opportunity to sell more food and beverages.

Everyone continued speculating on which type the Jungle Madness was going to be with the majority selecting a safe answer, the strength category.

A toucan was flying in the sky holding a microphone, “IN A FEW MINUTES THE HIGH PRIORITY JUNGLE MADNESS WILL BEGIN! ARE YOU READY?!”

The crowd replied with several growls and weird sounds.

The toucan descended, heading behind the ring where two small huts have been placed to contain the challengers and keep them hidden until the last moment with the final reveal.

“Ryuu, get your ass movin’ we ready to begin!” He honked with his annoying, quickly shouting in and out as repeated the same sentence for the other contestant.

“Where is he?” The wolf remarked, checking the clock on his phone in an obsessive manner, “What is he doing? He should've been already here!”

“I don't think we can wait any longer Ryuu,” Arthur said, “There's no way we can reach a compromise to earn some extra time.”

Ryuu didn't pay attention to him. He was thinking about the interview, “No, he really needs to be here.”

“But you listened to it, didn't you?” The dog sighed, “I wouldn't feel like coming anymore.”

“It's my fault. I wasn't able to provide a safe environment and he got overwhelmed by everything. I thought I had it all under control…”

“It's not your fault! How could you predict all of this?! It looks more like the school is doing its best to give the worst impression possible!”

“Who are we kidding Arthur? We knew this was going to happen from his first Jungle Madness. They made it easy for him to get in, but they aren't allowing the same courtesy for him to stay…”

The toucan suddenly appeared, upset and impatient. “What are you doing?! I already called your name and you're still sitting on the chair as if nothing's going on!”

“I need some extra time,” he bluntly declared, “I'm waiting for Nova.”

The bird rolled his eyes, “Why do you care? It's not his challenge. It's yours!”

“I'm not repeating myself.”

“UGH! I'LL CHECK IF HE'S HERE THEN!” He yelled and exited the scene.

“Don't put your hopes up. I'm pretty sure that he would've already reached us in here,” Arthur remarked.

“It doesn't matter,” the wolf replied. “He's on his way. I need more time. If he meant what he said he’ll show up.”

“HE'S NOT HERE AND WE CAN'T WAIT!” The toucan appeared once again clearly more distressed than before.

Arthur covered his ears, “Scott, can you not scream?! We're right here! Lower your damn voice, it's piercing my brain!”

“Listen, if you don't move your butt I'll have to disqualify you!” He threatened, “Jungle Madness have defined setups for time and it is not fair after knowing it yourself.”

Ryuu crossed his arms, completely unaffected, “You're doing a judge test, aren't you?”

He narrowed his eyes, “So what? You think I wouldn't do a good job?”

“No, of course not." A smug smirk decorated his face, “But disqualifying me means that this Jungle Madness won't be good material to test your skills on. It means that you will most likely have to wait for another high priority Jungle Madness and I don't think it will happen again, at least, not for a while. Will you throw away your chance to earn a license?”

“You son of a bitch. I could disqualify you right here right now for trying to corrupt the judge!”

“Then go ahead. What are you waiting for?” He gently pushed him towards the exit, “Go fly and tell everyone that my opponent won by default.”

“YOU REALLY ARE A PIECE OF SHIT!” He yelled, flying away while squawking with anger.

“You're a real tryhard, Ryuu.” 

“That's what happens when you play too many games with your best friend.” 

The dog smiled, “I sure hope you're right.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Running through the hallway, the panda burst into the cafeteria, using all the energy he had left. He rested on his knees, panting heavily.

“WE'RE FINALLY READY TO START! I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE,” the voice stated from the courtyard.

“Shit, I'm so late!” He muttered, walking towards the door.

It was his first time being an actual spectator instead of being the one in action and he didn't know what to expect. He guessed it was going to be crowded and crammed, but he didn't predict that a wall made of students wouldn't let him move through. It was like staying at the bottom of the biggest mountain! He couldn't even see through them! The biggest animals were used as chairs for the smaller ones to have a better view and look further.

He didn't want to ask them to move. It wasn't fair. They arrived on time, probably early, and prepared their seats beforehand with their classmates.

“NOW PLEASE GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO THE CHALLENGER, RYUU THE WOLF FROM 1B!” The bird above him yelled, followed by strong and loud replies of the crowd.

He checked all around, hoping to find an opening with little success. The only way was to create one and the students still hate him. He didn't want to worsen his situation before doing something good.

“Hey, Nova! I'm here! Look up!” A female voice called him as she slowly moved right above his head.

“Oh, hey! It's you…uh… Esmeralda, right?”

She tilted her head, slightly offended, “Yes, but I told you to not use my full name.”

“I'm sorry, I couldn't really think of a nickname yet.”

“I forgive you,” she said, extending her leg. “Take it, I'll bring you to the others.”

“You sure you can hold me?”

She winked. “Don't underestimate me.” 

The swan lifted the panda as soon as he had a firm grip on her leg. Nova prayed that they would reach their seats unnoticed, but things never go the way he wants them to be.

Class 1B was the closest one to the ring, so they crossed half of the courtyard, interrupting the toucan from introducing the second contestant.

All the students glanced up at him for various reasons. Gossip went rampant as everyone whispered to one another several things.

“Is that the new uniform?”

“Gosh, that thing is amazing.”

“Can you believe it? After what happened he still showed up.”

“I find it cute.”

Nova blushed, closed his eyes and stopped listening to not sink in his own embarrassment.

Esmeralda glanced over to Ryuu. They exchanged a nod at each other just before she dropped the panda next to his classmates.

“Thank you for the help,” Nova said, fixing his own position.

Everyone stared at each other and back to Nova as if they didn't know what to do.

“Is…something wrong?” He asked, noticing the weird atmosphere.

The fox stepped closer, “How do you feel?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” She scratched her head, “We bought some snacks, you want some?”

“I'm not really hungry, but if you have some water I'll take it.”

She quickly searched inside her bag, “Yes I have it.”

The panda smiled, “If you're talking about the interview I know everything already.”

“REALLY!?” She moved closer, followed by her classmates doing the same, “BUT IT TOTALLY FELT LIKE YOU WEREN'T AWARE THE INTERVIEW WAS LIVE.”

“Oh, that. It's true. I didn't know until Leo suddenly interrupted it but he wasn't the one who told me. I had a feeling something was going on...rather I decided I didn't want to know. It was better for me.”

“That motherfucking tiger,” Natalie muttered, planting the knife on the ground, “Who does he think he is? Arrogant bastard shouting about morals. I hate those kind of people.”

“Please Natalie, calm down…” The swan soothed, sitting next to her.

“No, he pisses me off! People like him act as if they're perfect and shield their own mistakes behind that stupid excuse.”

“Be quiet,” the owl ordered, “We’ve caused enough problems for today.”

They faced forward just to see the toucan almost ready to scream and blow up on all of them.

The beaver giggled, “That guy will never pass the judge exam with that attitude.”

The bird took off, boiling with rage, “AND LET'S NOW WELCOME THE CHALLENGED. MARK THE CHEETAH FROM THE SAME CLASS!”

Hearing that name caused an uproar. Mark refused to take part in any school activity since he enrolled there one year ago. All the sophomores were visibly shook while the freshmen just followed the mass.

“I can't believe this…” The swan commented, “Why did they go this far?”

Nova stared at the cheetah as soon as he showed up, reaching Ryuu on the ring. He looked absent as if the situation didn't affect him at all. His ears twitched, turning towards the source, he spotted Natalie changing expression completely. She was way more serious looking and her fists were clenched, ready to hit something.

“What is the challenge this time?” He asked.

“It will be revealed soon, just wait,” the owl coldly replied.

“The challenge is strength based,” the toucan explained, “It's a wrestling freestyle challenge. The contestants will be allowed to do everything they want as long as it's not breaking any of the rules they setup. In this challenge we have two conditions for winning. The first and simplest one is to throw your opponent out of the ring. I'll be more clear. The one who touches the ground outside the ring will automatically lose. The second winning condition is to incapacitate your opponent for ten seconds straight. Hold them down and do your best.”

The toucan landed in the middle of the ring waiting for Ryuu and Mark to get closer.

“Now, the rules are up to you Ryuu. You want them or not?” He asked, flying to reach his height.

“Yes, I want them.”

“Perfect. What is the rule you wish to apply?”

He pointed his finger at his freshly made scar, “I wanna forbid any attack towards my wound.”

The bird landed on his shoulder and checked it out, “Doing any kind of attack on that wound will automatically cause Mark to lose this Jungle Madness.”

“No external help,” Mark muttered in return.

“Any kind of aid towards one of the contestants will cause defeat for the one who received said help,” he repeated to the audience in a clearer manner. “Ryuu, we’re back to square one. Do you wanna go for a second round of rules?”

“I wanna limit his speed.”

“I see. Mark won't be allowed to use his super-speed during the fight and must match Ryuu's.”

A satisfied smile appeared on the cheetah’s face, “I want this fight to be without items. I have to punch with my own bare hands!”

“The contestant asked for a clean and bare handed fight. The gloves that we provided will be removed as well.”

“I request a nerf.” The wolf interferes, “Gloves are important protection.”

“Alright then. Each contestant will receive only one glove corresponding to their main hand.”

“Seriously?” Mark scoffed, “Such a waste of a nerf call.”

“He modified your rule so you have the right to ask for an extra.”

“Fine. The four ropes around the ring. I want you to remove them.”

“The extra is too strong. I'll have to limit it down myself.” He ordered, “Only two of them will be cut.”

Nova stared at the entire thing with curiosity and interest. Ryuu didn't really explain all the phases to him and guessing by himself was getting hard. He didn't understand all the mechanics that were played in just a few minutes.

“This is the rule phase. The challenger starts first with a rule. The judge will approve it, modify it or, worst case scenario, deny it. Modified or denied rules will still count as if you made the rule. They take turns and the rule phase must end with the same guy it started with—Ryuu, in this case. Both of them can call the nerf. It's only one per Jungle Madness, so it's first come first served. The nerf will force the judge to change the latest rule and it will offer an extra rule to the guy who got nerfed. The extra has to be around the same level of the nerf. No matter how you call them those are always the rules and will be treated as such,” the owl explained while the ring was modified according to the rules, “Is everything clear?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Keep your eyes open. It's gonna be hell soon.”


	5. On the ring

The silence was killing him. He didn’t know what to do, nor what to say, so he sat quietly on the ground thinking back to everything that had just transpired. Other than the tight grasp on his heart making it hard to breathe, he felt empty. It was torture knowing he had done something wrong, and didn't know how to fix it. 

His paws flexed in irritation. Sullen, he looked down to his white paws and stretched them once more. 

He blinked. In that instant, the sharp claws he normally kept hidden became unsheathed and coated with blood.

“No!” He shrieked, paralyzed with fear as blood trailed down normally white fur. “It wasn't me! I would never do such a thing!” 

Nova shuddered, shaking his head in denial. Horrified, the bear squeezed his eyes shut looking for an escape. When he opened his eyes, the grotesque vision had vanished, and everything went back to normal. On trembling legs he stood, but his gaze never left the white paws. Gathering nerves of steel, the panda took the pass William left for him and exited the treehouse.

He wasn't in the mood for another round with the ladder; another one of William’s tricks he assumed, but Nova didn't want to find out. Since the ladder method of escape was out, there had to be another option… Something he dreaded, but was definitely more willing to do than fall for another prank. He pressed the big black paw pad in the middle of his hands and unsheathed his true claws knowing he didn't have much strength in his legs. Small actions like running and jumping were impossible for him to perform; even the smallest jump would drain him.

On the other hand, his paws were extremely strong and dangerous which is why he preferred to keep them hidden. Moreover, they carried bad memories.

Before he could question himself anymore, he jumped down the treehouse head first. One moment before his head hit the ground he extended his arms, ending up in a slightly wobbly handstand. It would have been a perfect landing if not for him forgetting how to flip back up, resulting in him flopping to the ground, slightly hurting his legs on what was supposed to be the easiest part.

“My reaction time’s decreased a lot,” Nova mumbled, looking at the treehouse to check how high he’d fallen from.

Though he used to do bigger jumps, he felt happier knowing he was forgetting how to do it.

“At first, I didn't believe him.”

Startled, Nova's ears perked up as someone started speaking behind him.

“But after seeing you, I'm sure that he wasn’t lying.”

The panda turned around and saw Yvonne, a bag strapped to her shoulder, next to a young female skunk. She was tapping on a laptop but the look in her eyes gave away that she also saw his acrobatic feat.

“Please don't ask…” He pleaded, hiding his claws.

“I don't need to,” she remarked. “Thanks to Cody and your interview I've learned enough on my own.”

“Ah, I see,” Nova answered. “I figured the interview was live. ”

“For someone who holds his past dear and tries to keep it a secret, you shrug it off pretty fast,” the skunk hummed, closing her screen. “Name's Melissa. I'm a second year and Guardian of 1-C, formerly known as Hacker. I've been accepted as a programmer. Nice to meet you, celebrity.”

His eyes narrowed, body growing tense. “That's not it…”

“Don't worry big boy. Yvonne would never do anything to hurt you.” She smiled. “Actually, she went out of her way to learn more about you firsthand! Isn't she the sweetest?”

The lioness coughed reminding her to be professional. The skunk rolled her eyes. 

“Alright, jeez. I'm just being nice.”

“I didn't do it on purpose,” she clarified. “He leaked info to his childhood friend so I needed to meet him.”

“Is that it?” Melissa complained. “If you want my opinion, I think you both are lying to each other. I mean, I understand your position Yvonne, but he has nothing to lose by opening up to you.”

“One day you'll understand that things are not easy as they look,” the lioness mused.

“Excuse me Headmistress, Melissa. I should get going…” Nova interrupted. “Ryuu’s Jungle Madness starts soon. The longer I stand here, the later I am.”

“Say hi to Ryuu for me. Thanks to you I won't be able to go and watch him lose,” the programmer grunted. “You should give him the card.”

Yvonne nodded in approval, reaching into her open bag to pull out a white card. “I'm sorry. We couldn't give you a higher level even if we wanted to. We’ve decided that this is part of your challenge to officially stay here. I will give you details later. For now take it.”

Nova's face twisted into a painful expression realizing it was a level one card.

“Listen to me, Big Boy. I barely managed to add permission on that key. Our system is safely protected by everyone—and by that, I really do mean everyone. I haven't managed to add you to the database yet. I'm probably rambling about a lot of stuff you don't even understand. Whoops. The point is that you can't challenge anyone for now because your profile doesn't exist. The card you have received is a generic test card Yvonne gives to new employees. You need it in order to get in and out of the school.”

“Thanks…” He replied, disinterested. “At least I'm not trapped here anymore.”

“Nova,” Yvonne sighed, laying her paw on his shoulder. “Forget about what happened in the interview. This school wasn't made with the purpose of helping people who already have a path. I want to help people like you; that is my dream. That's why we have paid students, too. I want to stick close to people like you, take their hands and lead them towards their hidden talents.”

His eyebrows furrowed, confusion written clearly on his face. He glanced down. “Everyone frowns upon them because they're a nuisance and a minority. Why would you do that? I don't get it.”

When he went to meet her eyes, Melissa looked visibly upset and he didn't understand why.

“I couldn't do differently,” she admitted. “They would never allow me…”

“Yvonne. Don't,” the skunk reminded with a serious expression.

“I know, sorry.” She stepped away, allowing Nova to go. “Even if you think you aren’t, you're already walking your own path so don't give up, and don't stop pushing. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it's a pleasure. We are here to support you no matter what, so don't hesitate.”

The dismissal was clear. Without so much of a backwards glance, the panda walked past them to the elevator at the end of the hall, pushed the button, and waited.

“You're too kind. Caring too much will cause you trouble, Yvonne,” Melissa muttered, watching Nova disappear behind closing metal doors.

The lioness smiled grimly. “No one cares. That's why I have to.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Jungle…” The toucan shouted, soaring above the crowd.

“Madness!” The entire audience chanted in unison, yelling as loud as possible.

Nova’s eyes widened, stunned by the sudden chaos. Surely this wasn’t what had occurred before? He stood there, card clutched tightly in his hand, trying hard to recall what happened beforehand.

“Whaaat?!” A female voice suddenly shrieked, startling him as a monkey snatched the card from his paws, lifting it up in the sky allowing sunshine to highlight its colour. “You're a paid student?! No frickin’ way dude…”

“Can I have it back? Please…” He asked, embarrassed and upset.

“You look like someone beat you up.” She smiled, leaning closer. “What's with the sad face? Having a rough first day?”

“Lori, have more tact!” A small voice squeaked from on top of her head. “Try to be a little more polite!”

The panda rose an eyebrow, unsure of who was talking until a small mouse popped out of her hair.

“We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I apologize!” She mumbled timidly, blushing.

“Oh shoot, we didn't?” The monkey mused, tilting her head. “I thought I talked with him before…”

“No, Lori, you just vaguely told him about the break hour and ran away…”

She nodded quickly. “I see, I see. Well I was totally going to do that, but you see, the timing wasn’t all that great, and—”

“You three be quiet,” the fox chimed in. “They're starting!”

Lori dropped the card into his paw. “My bad. I got carried away again.”

“We will talk later when the challenge ends!” The mouse said, hiding back inside her fur.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The wolf flashed over the cheetah. His behavior didn't live up to the threats he spouted during the rule phase. His paws behind his back, staring elsewhere, ignoring what was happening and with the glove hanging down his pants.

“Are you going to neglect this too, Mark?” He asked as he tied the glove on to his left paw.

“Hmm?” The cheetah mused, turning around. “I just realized that this is a huge pain in the ass and I'm honestly not in the mood.”

“Then get out of the ring,” Ryuu ordered. “I don't like wasting time, especially my own.”

“Your time?” He shrugged, smiling. “If I remember correctly you pushed this shit on me and now you're asking me to lose?”

“One whole year, Mark. You’ve abused everyone's kindness by playing the victim for an entire year. We're sick of this and won’t endure it any longer. If you refuse to leave now, I'll make sure you will.”

Mark laughed sardonically, “Look at you playing the smartass hero. Do you even understand half of the big words you spout, puppy? Framing me as the bad guy won't help you.” The cheetah stared at the paw he equipped the glove with. “That's not your main hand, am I right?”

The wolf didn't answer, but Mark understood his game.

“I thought you made a rule about it,” he taunted. “Why make sure to shield yourself from any attack on your wounded eye? Wouldn't that help you win faster? Are you thinking straight? Your strategy is dumb.”

“It's just a precautionary decision,” the canine remarked. “I don't want you to lose because of it. That kind of win wouldn't satisfy me.”

“You look so determined!” Mark smiled. “I'm actually jealous; you gotta teach me how you do it because I can't take this shit seriously.”

His lips pulled back into a snarl revealing sharp incisors as Ryuu dashed towards Mark, cocking his right paw towards the instigator’s face. The cheetah easily slid to the side.

“I see,” he mused. “You're holding a little grudge. I admit that was my bad. You started talking about things you know nothing about and I got a little pissed.”

The wolf, brushing off everything he said, continued with more punches that Mark kept dodging fluidly; with every swing, the cheetah had already predicted its trajectory and had moved in the opposite direction. Ryuu, noticing how easily the cheetah read the situation, halted his attack and moved away, eyeing his competitor warily.

“Dude, why you so surprised? I'm a cheetah. This is absolutely normal for my kind.”

The wolf was irritated. It was obvious that Mark still wasn't taking this seriously; it was all just a game to him. He wouldn’t fight back!

“That's why it happened. This is the attitude that killed her.”

The easygoing attitude vanished. Ryuu barely had a moment’s notice before Mark instantly attacked, quickly leaping out of harm’s way. He tensed, turning back to face the irritated cheetah.

“Keep talking. I’ll break your eye next time.”

He lunged again, yet the wolf noticed that when controlled by his emotions he wasn't as fast and strong. Ryuu managed to block his paws and hold him in place. “She would be disappointed right now.”

“You know what?” Mark struggled free. “Since you really want me to break your face I'll grant your wish!”

Mark, even if limited by the speed rule Ryuu setup, struck the wolf rapidly making him stumble backwards. The cheetah didn't allow him to recover as he charged forward, pinning the canine down in the middle of the ring.

“RYUU HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED BY MARK!” The toucan shouted, starting the countdown.

The audience gasped, all eyes focused on the duo. Only a few of them worried about the wolf losing. “Ryuu don't give up!” Arthur yelled, standing at the edge of the ring. “Fuck… I can't watch this.” He cried, slapping a paw over his mouth while covering his eyes and ears.

Nova didn't know how to feel about it. He knew nothing about Mark and everything they said was irrelevant due to his lack of knowledge. Ryuu was the guide assigned to him during his transfer. They had just met, but it seemed as though a lot of stuff happened last year. He couldn't really cheer for him because he didn't know the truth, let alone both perspectives.

“Come on Mark…”

The panda turned towards the soft voice. To his surprise, it was Natalie! The beaver seemed extremely out of character as she almost whispered it quietly, making sure no one could hear her. There was definitely more to this than it seemed. He remembered the owl’s countless warnings of walking into hell. Nova turned back to Ryuu while the countdown continued. Mark was still holding him down.

The cheetah grinned, enjoying the moment. “You know my mother fights way better than you.” 

The wolf’s eyes widened for a few moments. “Are you kidding me?”

Ryuu grit his teeth, realizing the taunt wasn’t just a mere provocation. He narrowed his eyes, gathering his strength boosted by his will not to lose and struggled harder.

Mark leaned closer putting most of his weight on his opponent, trying to prevent his release. In that moment, he walked into his trap.

Ryuu, waiting for the right opportunity, slammed his head against his in a fast motion. When the first hit landed, the damage caught Mark off guard so he weakened his grip giving the wolf more space to move freely. He did it again and the cheetah staggered away, landing on the ground a few inches away.

“Eight seconds! Eight seconds! Mark was so close that I thought victory was in his paws!” The judge yelled, flying in endless circles above their heads.

Ryuu slowly got up. That small moment of justice had injured him as well. He held his forehead, trying to reduce the pain.

“You motherfucker…” Mark panted, stumbling back to his feet. “That hurt us both!”

The wolf smiled. It was a clear sign of provocation. “I’m honored. For once you consider someone else instead of just thinking about yourself.”

“Please spare me your bullshit.” The cheetah spat on the floor. “If you were in my place you'd understand that there is no space for others.”

“Me? In your place?” He raised an eyebrow. “You really think this would be happening if I were in your place?”

He laughed back at him. “Of course. Of course. I forgot. You're the son of the police chief. You always know what to do and how to act to please everyone.”

“Now you're the one spouting nonsense.”

“Yeah, keep lying to yourself Ryuu. You don't need anything. You already have a path paved for you to follow. You have everything you need. You can even fucking ignore it and make a new one; no one would complain anyway,” he snarled, eyes full of jealousy and hate.

The wolf rushed towards him and tried to punch him again, but Mark blocked it. The cheetah felt satisfied knowing he’d successfully paid him back with cruel words in kind. Ryuu allowed him to enjoy that moment before kneeing him in the stomach once he lowered his defense. 

Mark instantly stumbled backwards, a huge pain in his stomach taking over. He couldn't even breathe, his saliva flowing from his heaving mouth. Everything was blurry, but with what little energy he had, the cheetah remained standing, glaring at him with resentment.

“You're an idiot,” Ryuu sighed. “What do you expect me to do? Should I give up because you weren't as lucky as I was?” He glanced down, looking at his damaged fist. “I don't feel as lucky as you think I am.”

“Stop…” Mark panted, slowly gaining a hold of his senses. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Ryuu’s heart clenched, feeling those words cut the deepest.

“Stop judging me you bastard…” His opponent continued, stalking closer. “Get down from that fucking pedestal…”

The meaning behind them resonated with what he believed was wrong in him. Those words bound the wolf’s heart, paralyzing him. His breathing became labored, eyes growing wide with discomfort and pain.

“I despise those eyes. That cold stare, that expression of superiority you always carry with you.” Mark grabbed his shirt, hoisting him up. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!” He shook him violently as they exchanged a neverending stare. “Get out of my fucking way.”

The cheetah’s eyes brightened, a new plan coming to mind. He dropped the police chief’s son, showing him mercy and encouraging the wolf to give up before he did something he may regret later.

Ryuu stood tall once more.

“I can't let you win. As I’ve said before, this isn’t only for me. This is for everyone who can't remember what a peaceful school life is supposed to be. It's for him. You never cooperated and we lost a precious friend. Rox took the blame, but I'm sure we could've prevented this if only you cared. In the end, I'm also doing it for you. You have no reason to stay here if you're not going to take part in our activities. It's meaningless. You're punishing everyone for something we have no control of.”

Mark narrowed his eyes. Everything he said fueled his rage further. He didn't want to hear it! Ryuu needed to learn his place and shut the hell up once and for all. 

“I'm done playing nice,” he growled, walking into the corner of the ring and grabbing the white rope that was meant to be the safe net to protect the challengers. The cheetah released his hidden claws and cut the rope to pull the cord out.

“What is he doing?!” A member of the audience roared. 

“You can't just damage school property like that!” The crowd opposed.

“Is he gonna use it as some sort of whip?”

“That's an item though. He should be disqualified!”

Nova glanced back-and-forth following the voices. He was just as confused.

“It's allowed,” Farris cut in, landing on the panda's shoulder.

“But why..? I don't get it…” The bear argued back while Mark swung the cord around to test its durability.

“Because it isn't considered a real item. It's part of the place they're fighting in, and not something you brought with you. It was there as protection, not necessarily defense.”

“I'm still confused though…”

“Okay, I'll give you an example then. You’re a normal wrestler. Are you allowed to use them to boost yourself to pin down the opponent?”

“Yeah, okay, fair enough, but wrestlers still aren’t allowed to do that.”

“Are we wrestlers?” The owl bent down to stare into his eyes. “This is a Jungle Madness, not a wrestling game. Our rules are different just like our strategies. Mark is way smarter than he looks.”

Nova winced, leaning away from Farris’ sharp beak that could pierce his left eye like a knife to butter. “Huh? But he asked to remove everything. It was the judge that held him down.” 

“That's where you're wrong. Mark played you all pretty easily, pretending not to know a single thing. His act was believable because he hasn't participated in a single JM before. This is actually his first official challenge. He knew the judge wouldn't let his extra go and forced him to change it just like he wanted.”

“So…you're saying that he decided to do this in order to avoid Ryuu’s suspicion?”

“Yes, that's correct.” The owl leaned back. “Ryuu would’ve figured out what he planned to use as a trump card if Mark directly asked to remove only half of the ring.”

“Wow…” Nova gasped, staring at the cheetah. “I really like how it's not only about pure strength.”

“It amazes me that he knew about this peculiarity. It is something mentioned inside the manual, but let's be honest here. No one ever reads it…”

Nova blinked, feeling stupid for being coerced into doing that. “No one?”

“Yup. They all learn by watching others fight. It's the simplest way.” Farris’ voice grew softer as he muttered to himself, “Why would he know about the manual if he never did a Jungle Madness and has never showed interest in it though…”

Mark flicked the whip while Ryuu stood still, watching him prowl closer.

“Ryuu, what are you doing?!” Arthur yelled from behind. “Do the same before he attacks you!”

“One last chance,” the cheetah sneered. “Will you give up before I seriously hurt you?”

The wolf stayed quiet, raising his protective glove.

Mark, angered by the silent treatment, rose the makeshift whip and smacked him countless times. Every single hit he landed the cheetah stopped and tested his reaction; he wanted to hear his grunts of pain; see his shaking body damaged to the point where he’d either give up or lose consciousness.

The audience fully sided with the wolf as they wouldn't accept such one-sided violence towards someone who wasn't doing anything anymore. They thought he could've easily pushed him out of the ring and stopped this nonsense.

“Ryuu! Get out of the way!” Arthur cried out, ready to climb inside the ring. “I can't see this! I don't want to—”

The wolf snarled, commanding him to stay where he is. “Don't you dare make me lose.”

“Ryuu…” The husky winced taking a step backwards, confused and scared by his tone. 

Mark laughed. “Are you serious? It's been pretty clear to everyone for a while now that I’ve won this match.” He pointed at him with the whip. “You're shaking and can barely move. I admire how much you’ve endured but, you know, if I keep going I may do some lasting damage.”

“And have you resume your shitty life here as if nothing ever happened?” He replied, upset. “I'd rather have you scar my other eye as well.”

Mark laughed again, shaking his head and continued whipping him, eager to break not only his body, but his mind, too. The one part of him he despised most.

The audience complained, Arthur complained as well, but no one stopped it. There was no rule to make it stop when Ryuu explicitly asked to not interfere no matter what. The judge simply watched, waiting to announce the ending that drew near.

“...This is too much,” Nova growled, frustrated.

“This turned into a tragedy,” the owl sighed. “He's such a stubborn guy.”

“Farris, would you kindly move away from my shoulder please?” Nova asked.

“Uhm?” He said, glancing over to him. The owl, once he saw the look in his eyes, didn't find the courage to ask. It was so sudden it caught him off guard.

“I'm so done with you Ryuu,” Mark sighed. “I gave you plenty of warning and look at that; you’ve still managed to have everyone on your side. It's not my fault you need to learn your lesson. It'd be pointless to just take the victory now.”

The wolf, seeing him ready to unleash another series of deadly attacks, tightened his crossed arms and prepared to weaken the damage as much as he could.

However, in an instant, the whip he was holding was abruptly forced out of his paw. The unexpected strength hurt him but that was the last of his problems. 

“What have you done?” The voice murmured tonelessly. It wasn’t a question.

Mark himself didn't understand the tone of his own voice. It shouldn't have bothered him at all because he won anyway. It didn't matter that it was due to breaking the rules, but deep down he felt a mixture of regret. This isn’t how he wanted this to end.

When he looked up, the look in his eyes, what he had done and how he interfered...everything bothered him. It wasn't hate. He felt guilty.

Ryuu lowered his arms, noticing the silence of the crowd and the lack of immediate pain. To his surprise, Nova stood between them, throwing away the whip he had just retrieved from Mark.

“I know what I’ve done,” the panda remarked, looking at the cheetah. “Ryuu lost, right? End it.”

The toucan landed next to them and shouted, “MARK WINS THE JUNGLE MADNESS! RYUU HAS BEEN DISQUALIFIED FOR RULE BREAKING!”

The audience didn't shout. No one cheered for the winner, leaving a bitter and anticlimactic taste to the entire thing.

“Why did you do that?!” Ryuu cried out. “I stopped Arthur on purpose and you had to step in?!”

When the panda turned around the wolf reeled from the same onslaught of feelings Mark currently felt. “I don't approve of self-destructive behavior.”

For Ryuu it was different. Mark didn't interact with him. The wolf did. The panda that was in front of him wasn't the same panda he had met not even a week beforehand. Something had triggered a change in his behavior. He looked cold, serious and somewhat...dangerous. The few words spoken as well as his tone made them both feel ashamed as if he had read their souls and learned about every one of their mistakes.

It didn't last long. Mark, Ryuu and everyone else stood there in silence, shock shock evident in their eyes. Everything was so unexpected that no one could say something.

Nova blinked, returning back to his usual self as his mind processed what happened. Ryuu's expression by itself was enough, but the situation was enhanced by the audience’s piercing yet confounded gaze.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” the panda mumbled, face as red as a strawberry. “I did it again. I did it again!” He crouched down, trying to cover his face. “This is the worst…”

Ryuu tried to get closer to console him, but when he did, his body finally recognized and processed how hard the wolf pushed himself and a huge wave of pain overrode his senses. The fight was over and he fainted a few moments after the announcement.

“Huh?! Ryuu!” Arthur climbed inside, heading straight towards the collapsed wolf.

Nova’s embarrassment disappeared upon hearing the worried cry from the husky. “We need help!” He yelled towards the audience as he reached Ryuu to carry him away. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

For the second time in the history of this class, utter silence filled the room. Everyone had returned to their respective class, but no one said a single words for minutes. Nova stared down at his desk, buried by the overwhelming sensation that his chains were coming loose so soon.

He felt selfish but somehow relieved that this time, Mark actually remained in class. His presence dissuades their classmates from even thinking of approaching Nova. Additionally, it wasn't possible because the cheetah emanated a threatening aura even if he looked like he didn't care.

The door suddenly opened and a small porcupine wearing glasses walked in. He was holding a long stick. Nova couldn't stop staring at him as he slowly wobbled all the way to the desk, climbing first on to the small step, then on the chair, and finally the top of what seemed like a little mountain to him.

“It is oddly quiet in here,” he joked with a squeaky voice that couldn't be taken seriously even if he were mad. “I wish it was always like this.”

The small animal bent down towards the edge trying to open a drawer that was bigger than him. “Ugh… I thought I told Dianne to leave the teacher's journal outside the desk when I'm coming.”

After a few tries he successfully pulled it out. “Alright…lemme sign this thing so that we can get to the part you all are interested in.”

He took a small pencil out of his pocket and placed his signature on top of it. “Okay…so.” His eyes met Nova's making him instantly turn away, embarrassed. “Ah yes, it seems like introductions are in order…”

The porcupine jumped up, landing on the startled panda’s desk. Nova blinked, glancing from the teacher’s desk to his own desk that certainly weren’t close to one another. “I am Herbert, your math teacher for as long as you're here.” He extended his tiny paw towards him. “It is very nice to meet you.”

He was extremely friendly but a little invasive. Nova hesitated for a second not knowing how to shake his tiny paw, so he extended a few fingers instead and waited for him to grab them.

“Now onto the topic at hand. Ryuu is resting inside the infirmary and Naomi is looking after him. There are no internal injuries; the guy has a tough hide. He’s received a bunch of bruises that won't leave anything marks or swelling once healed. When we checked under that bandage around his eye though, well… Naomi said that it was his battle scar, so to speak, so let's try not to pressure him too much about it. Arthur is also there. We tried to call him back but he refused and we didn't want to push it. Meanwhile, since these are your first days anyway, I won't be teaching any lessons for now.”

The cheetah, after hearing what he needed to know, dragged himself backwards with the chair and stood up.

“M-Mark?” The teacher mumbled. “Where are you going?”

“Hmm?” He turned around, clearly showing that he didn't have any respect for authority. “I'm leaving.”

“But you can't just go like this!” He pointlessly argued back, seeing Mark move towards the door. “If you have to go the bathroom just ask and I'll give you permission!”

“Yeah, yeah…” The cheetah shrugged it off. “I'll go to the bathroom for a few hours.”

“See?” He proudly replied back. “Wasn't that hard, was it?”

Everyone pretended that it was fine as he closed the door and left.

In that moment, all the students rushed to Nova and surrounded him. His protection gone, they all swarmed around him and the professor.

“Huh?!” He cried out, scared. “What's this all about?”

Lori lifted the professor and moved him back to his desk. “Sorry prof, but we have things to ask him.”

“H-hey!” The porcupine blushed, struggling to assert his dominance. “That's not how you treat your teacher!”

“I'm sorry! I thought you'd feel a little overwhelmed under their gaze,” the monkey rectified, pointing her finger towards all the staring classmates.

“Oh, well, I guess it's fine this time!” He stuttered. “I'm sure everyone is shocked by what happened today so I'll let you all relax.”

“Okay fattie, listen up.” Natalie jumped on to his desk. “You better speak and start from the beginning or I swear I'll punch you so hard that your black spots will go white.”

Nova understood from she said that they don't know. Ryuu didn't explain anything and he questioned if he wanted to keep it private. Everyone was staring at him and he didn't even manage to hear their introductions yet.

“I, uh…don't know what you want from me…”

Natalie pulled out her pocket knife and stabbed the desk as close as possible to his paw. “Don't fuck with me panda.”

Nova cried, moving his paw away. “I swear! I'm not!”

“Nat…please,” the swan interfered. “Even if he knew something you won't pull it out because he is scared. Fear can influence our memories both positively and negatively…”

“This is his first day too,” the fox continued. “Hasn’t he gone through enough shit for his first day?”

Natalie rolled her eyes as she took the knife back. “Bullshit. You guys saw what he did back there. This whining bitch knows what happened.”

“Let's just all calm down for now,” Farris sighed. “Let's take a break and let what happened sink in. Maybe he can't talk? You have to consider all the possibilities.”

“And why shouldn't he?!” The beaver argued back, upset. “We have to know in order to help them! It's fucking insulting that they think we're useless.”

“I, I don't like this…” The mouse shivered from the monkey's head.

Lori smiled. “Sometimes I envy Jamie. He’s always so chill.”

“But he’s just sleeping…”

“Exactly.”

Nova sat there in silence as his classmates— some against him, and some for him—argued back-and-forth about what happened. He was both involved and an outsider at the same time.

Through the madness, Nova could sense someone approach them calmly. His aura was different even though he looked somewhat threatening. With a deep breath, the crocodile slammed his fist onto the desk with a loud bang, silencing the quarrels. 

“Explain,” Rox commanded in a gentle tone, looking at him as though he understood. 

The panda didn't know how to start or what to say and it was troubling him.

The crocodile nodded at him, pushing him to start from wherever he wanted.

“I wasn't there when Mark and Ryuu argued. I arrived there later on, but from what I saw I believe that Ryuu forced him into a Jungle Madness.”

“But you can't force people into a challenge!” Natalie argued, trying to find a hole in his story.

Rox instantly rose his arm, silencing her.

“I mean, I still don't know how it works. I only got some sort of card but—”

“Yup,” Lori confirmed. “He’s a level one.”

“Seriously?!” The fox gasped. “That is so unfair to make him start from the lowest grade.”

Rox stared at them, annoyed by their comments.

“Sorry, sorry. Please continue.”

“They probably fought even before the challenge because Mark scarred his left eye,” Nova hypothesized. “It was awful how he stood there, uninterested in his own wounds.”

Esmeralda sighed, “I'm so sorry you had to go through this.”

“When Arthur patched him up I was there, listening...but all the things they said didn't make sense to me. I didn't comprehend what they meant…”

“It's only natural,” Farris confirmed. “We've known everyone for a year already and from what I know they were friends even earlier.” 

“Wow,” the beaver sarcastically commented. “A bunch of useless info we knew from the start.”

“I told you!” The panda replied, “I have no clue what you want from me!”

Natalie glared at him. “Fine. Then would you care to enlighten me on your funny and totally unsuspicious behavior at the end?”

Everyone gathered close, almost suffocating him, but truth be told that's where they were going from the start. They all knew it. 

“It isn't related to the school and it isn't because I know something you guys don't.” Nova clarified. “Is that alright?”

“Dude, stop beating around the bush and talk.” 

The panda sighed. He was fully aware that he couldn't hide this for long anyway. “It's a trait that comes from my mother's side. It is passed down from one generation to the next. Sometimes it's passive and skips one but that's rare.” He pointed at the weird markings around his face. “This defective fur is its trademark. I mean, mom always told me that if you have it you’ve surely inherited this thing anyway, so—”

“Can you fucking stop?!” The beaver yelled. “I don’t want to hear about your family’s history!”

“I'm sorry! It’s necessary to explain what I did.”

Everyone blinked, confused.

“Well, the thing is that whenever I'm upset for some reasons my strength tremendously increases in my paws.” He blushed, scratching the back of his head. “I've been taking special lessons to train this thing in order to control my strength with my will instead of letting my emotions determine my actions.”

Lori laughed, “You're like the superhero in stories that get supernatural strength whenever they go mad!”

“Don't laugh at him!” The mouse smacked her head. “That guy loses his mind. That's not the same!”

“I'm not able to use my full strength at will, but I did manage to obtain a good chunk of it.” Nova admitted. “I also learned how to control myself so I don't lose my mind like in the past but, well, it was extremely bad of me to rush into the middle of a fight when he said to not to…”

“Allow me to disagree.” The swan took his paw, forcing him to look at her. “What you did was a very noble and kind action towards your classmate. We, as students, understand what Ryuu is going through and respected his choice. It doesn't mean that you did something wrong. I am very happy that you’ve already bonded with someone enough to stand up for him.”

The fox shrugged. “I don't know why Essi always needs to make such big speeches instead of stating the facts.”

“...The facts?” Nova remarked, setting himself free from the swan’s grip before his fur changed color from white to red.

She nodded proudly. “That was badass. That fierce look in your eyes, the determination, the ability to intimidate everyone who stands in your way just by your presence,” she exhaled with excitement. “Those things make my heart beat so hard!”

Lori moved closer to the panda and whispered into his ear, “That's why she has a crush on Rox.”

Fan, who heard everything because she was fairly close, pushed the monkey away so hard that she crashed into the desk behind them. “Oh my God, I'm so sorry.”

“Hey, you could've hurt Bea!” She muttered, checking up on her small friend. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm good! Don't worry about it.”

Fan's paw cracked when she clutched it into a fist. “Maybe next time you'll be more careful on how you run your mouth,” she whispered as they all tried their best to not let the subject of this mess hear.

Farris rolled his eyes, bored by their childish behavior. “Okay Nova, listen up. I'm totally not in the mood to allow Herbert to make a lesson. He's gonna notice soon that we are done so let's waste some extra time continuing the introduction we left hanging.”

Rox instantly moved back to his spot beside the window as soon as the owl spoke.

Esmeralda smiled. “That’s a good idea. It will be the most normal and healthy thing after such a stressful day.”

Fan shrugged. “Too bad our guardian refuses to have any social interaction whatsoever. It wouldn't hurt him…”

Natalie stood up. “I'm going out.”

Herbert jumped in front of her, raising his tiny paws. “No, no, no! You can't leave until Mark comes back. The rules say that only one individual at a time can wander out and—”

The beaver stabbed the knife onto the table right next to him. “I said I'm going out.” The menacing look on her face intimidated him as she leaned in closer, baring her teeth in a grim smile.

The hedgehog squeaked and curled into a ball. “I'll write a negative note if you keep acting in such a manner!” 

Without another word, Natalie took back her knife, stood up and left.

“I wonder what happened…” The swan mused. “Since the beginning of the Jungle Madness she’s been in such a bad mood.”

“Feels bad…” Lori tilted her body to the side, stretching. “Like, four people left and we are still here trapped in prison. I wanna use mood swings as an excuse to do whatever I want too.”

“But you don't have mood swings…” The mouse pointed out.

“Shh, no one knows that.” She winked.

“Why does no one ever listen to me…” The teacher cried, rolling around circles.

“Oh no…” Alarmed, Farris’ eyes grew as big as saucers. “I know that reaction.”

Rox turned around just to confirm it. “Get under the desks,” he commanded, before resuming his previous actions, ignoring the danger.

The fox dragged a confused and quiet Nova down. “Okay, sooo why are we hiding now?”

“When Herbert gets frustrated he starts shooting his quills everywhere. It's similar to you right?” The monkey stated from behind.

“I mean, kinda? Wait…he's not a porcupine.”

The teacher blew up and, as his friends said, his quills flew everywhere. Some lodged themselves in the ceiling, while others bounced against the walls and floor, penetrating the building. A few went towards Rox but he avoided them easily.

“He is a hybrid just like you,” Farris explained. “The only difference is that he looks like a normal hedgehog and only inherited the porcupine trait from his family.”

“In the one year he’s worked here, we’ve never seen him run out of quills. It's a mystery how it works,” the swan continued, peeking out to check if it was safe. “Ultimately, as I’m saying this, I mean that this is a daily activity in our class.”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” The teacher muttered, collecting his quills. “I didn't mean to! I'm glad no one is hurt though!”

“Soooo...” The monkey glanced at the panda. “This is our daily school life most of the time. What do you think?”

Nova, seeing that the commotion was over, took a deep breath to relieve his internal stress. “You’ll never be bored here…”

The fox giggled. “I would never return to a normal school honestly. Boring, normal lessons where your only duty is to study? No way! Most of the things you learn are useless, too!”

“Don't we have to study here…?” Nova questioned, confused.

“Yes and no,” Lori murmured.

“Hey, this is still a school!” Herbert yelled. “And as such your studies are still important!”

“The thing is,” Farris began, flying from the ground to his personal stick positioned on Rox's desk. “We follow special programs in order to speed up the normal studies. They're simplified by our teachers so that we can actually focus on useful things instead.” 

“Useful things?” Nova tilted his head. “I focused so much on learning about the Jungle Madness that I totally overlooked how the studies work…”

“Ignore it for now,” the fox known as Fan commented. “That's something the teachers will explain to you in the following days. Right now let's waste our time left together with introductions.”

“Okay! I wanna start,” the money chimed in. “I'm Lori the monkey. I'm fifteen years old and the athletic student.”

Nova stared at her as if to say he's waiting to hear more.

“Ehm…that's all?” She panicked. “I-I don't know what else I should say! I've been assigned to the strength category and I'm a level three but almost everyone here is level three or four so it's kinda pointless…”

“Well, you know, you could say that you're extremely agile and fast!” The mouse mumbled on top of her head.

“True, but I don’t want to look like I'm being arrogant.”

“It's fine.” She patted her head. “If you have something you’re proud of you gotta talk about it! At least you can…”

“Don't say that Bea! You're improving!”

“Thank you…” She blushed, hiding among her hair. “I am Beatrice…the paid student of this class.”

“She's super cute, super shy yet super kind at the same time. If you have anything cruel to say about her be ready to face the consequences! You hear me?!”

“I-I would never do that…” Nova raised his paws, trying to defend himself. “What's her talent?”

“I… Well…” She whispered, “I draw.”

The panda leaned closer. “I'm sorry?”

“I-I…—-aw.”

“...It's okay if you don't wanna tell me.”

The monkey puffed her cheeks, upset. “She's an artist; she draws good stuff for people.”

“No, I'm not an artist!” Beatrice cried. “That's such a big word for me! I am not!”

“Ugh…don't get me started on this. You totally are.”

“I’m inexperienced! My lines are shaky, I can't get anatomy right, and the shading is practically nonexistent!”

“Stop stop stop stop! Even if you're not the best you've been accepted here! That means you have potential!” The monkey took the mouse from her head and nuzzled her against her cheek. “Who's the best girl? You are!”

“S-Stop!” She blushed as the movements tickled her entire body making her laugh. “Please, I-I know! I give up!”

Nova couldn't help but smile. Those two seemed to have a deep connection and a strong relationship.

Farris coughed, moving the attention on him. “Let us move on, otherwise we will never finish this. I am Farris, assigned inside the intelligence category, the reason I've been accepted is due to my extremely sharp senses, precision and ability to perfectly schedule and organize my work and other's. My inspiration would be a secretary.”

“Oh, I see. You already have everything figured out…” Nova said, hinting some jealousy towards him.

“Ah wait, now that I think about it. Did anyone explain you the three categories? They'd probably sound easy to understand but if no one addressed this yet I'd be glad to tell you.”

“Ah, no no! I think that is the easiest thing I got it pretty quick. We get assigned to one based on the first auction, right?”

“Yes. You can be Strength, Intelligence or Creative. You're not necessarily stuck inside that category though but I think I shouldn't introduce you to the ranking system yet, for now I just wanted to ask you which you one you've been assigned to.”

Nova froze. “I don't know. I forgot to ask…”

“He is probably Strength too.” Esmeralda said. “There is no way he is-”

“Oh I remember!” Herbert rolled next to them. “We had a big discussion and decided to give you the Intelligence category.” His happy smile soon crumbled into despair. “Ahhh but I wasn't supposed to tell you! That's Yvonne’s job! Why am I so stupid…”

“They must've considered that… speech.” The panda toyed with his fingers. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

“It can be a little troublesome after you'll learn how the ranking works…” Farris mused. “But it can be swapped to another category next year so don't worry too much about it.”

“I feel like they're punishing him too much.” The swan replied. “It wasn't really his decision…”

“Still… he literally smashed and walked over a lot of rules. It's an ok treatment to understand if he really deserves this place.” The owl argued back, looking at Nova. “No hard feelings, how the school handled it was fair. How everyone is acting towards you after that isn't.”

“It's fine. Really, you don't have to justify yourself.”

The fox gently took the hedgehog from beneath and moved it away on another desk, “Okay, okay, okay. Now's my turn. Sorry prof! I wanna sit here.”

He sighed. “I'll have to live with it…”

Fan sat on Nova's desk, crossed her legs and faced him directly. 

“Hello! I am Fan, sixteen years old and am currently the vice guardian. I love martial arts and adore fighting; it's my favorite hobby followed by parkour.”

Her accent and name clearly gave away that she wasn't originally of this country but what always raised curiosity in the panda were the markings all over her face.

“Oh, I know what you're thinking.” She said, flickering her tail. “In my family there is a little passage that once we reach maturity our faces get tattooed with the traditional Chinese markings passed down from generation to generation. I got mine when I asked Dad to travel overseas and apply here one year ago.”

Lori slowly slithered to the side and whispered, “You're not in China anymore. It's time for you to get rid of those old clothes.”

She instantly blushed, pushing her away. “That's my favorite jacket! I always wear it when I go to school or when I miss my hometown. I did buy new stuff here; however, sometimes it feels a little weird how different our styles are. I can't deny they are really cute tho…”

Nova tried to memorize everything as he slowly looked at everyone, repeating all the names he heard. He already forgot a few, making him feel embarrassed.

“Hey Rox!” The fox yelled. “You're the only one left, I think… Come here!”

The crocodile gave a short glance to her and then resumed staring outside.

“Of course…” She puffed her cheeks, upset. “Would be nice if you actually talk to us for a change…”

“Don't be like that.” The swan cheered her up. “He still does his best when he is needed.”

“I know, but ugh…” Fan looked at Nova. “So this really apathetic guy over there is our guardian, Rox. He’s sixteen years old and never talks. He says a few words rarely… A true mystery. We actually don't even know his aspirations or dreams. We only know that he is really strong. That's it.”

“I know those if you ask me!” Herbert chimed in, waving his tiny paws.

Rox instantly turned around and glared at the teacher who regretted it a few seconds later.

“Oh come on!” The fox complained. “Why can't we know?!”

“Hmph,” he grunted, ignoring her once again.

“I hate you so much…” She gave him her back, focusing on Nova. “And that's all. I know that’s a lot to take in so don't feel bad if you have to ask our names again.”

“Thank you,” Nova said. “You all have been so understanding and open to everything that I don't know what to say…”

“We're classmates.” She proudly stood up. “We will stay together for a while. We have to stick together and cover for each other. I mean, that's what it should be…”

“I hope this year we can find a way to make a better environment…” The swan folded her wings. “It would be nice if we could all hang out and be friends.”

A loud noise from outside reached the students as the bell echoed throughout the hallway. The hour ended and it was time for the next period to start. Before it could, the door slid wide open revealing Natalie. 

“Ryuu woke up. I thought you guys would want to know.”

No one wasted a second as they all rushed outside towards the infirmary. Herbert uselessly tried to stop them, but his voice was quickly covered by everyone else's. 

“You have to go too,” the beaver stated, staring at the panda who wouldn’t move. “Why do you think I came here? It was mostly for you.”

Nova glanced down. He didn't know what to say to her. Nonetheless, he stood up and reached the door. It would've been worse to simply ignore it.

“...The infirmary is on this floor at the end of this hallway.” she directed, leading the way. “You know, just for future reference.”

When the two entered the room everyone was hiding the wolf from sight as they flooded him with questions, concerns and scoldings. It took a minute, but when Ryuu caught a glimpse of Nova he quickly asked the others to make some space for him to get closer.

“So…how do you feel?” He reluctantly asked, feeling like it was a dumb question.

“Everything is pulsing and burning,” he admitted. “I am at that level where my body hurts everywhere but it didn't break, so it’s just extremely annoying and irritating to deal with.”

“I am sorry to hear that.” Saddened, the panda looked at the new scar around his eye.

“It could've been way worse.” He shrugged, but in doing so hurt himself. He winced, letting his shoulder drop. “If it weren't for you ignoring my stubbornness.”

“I-I see…” He stuttered. “I'm glad I was able to help.”

“Why is everyone here?!” Naomi, the squirrel nurse, asked, walking in to check on the patient. “Who let you all wander around like this?”

“Herbert,” they all chanted together.

“Of course…” She sighed. “Please don't stay too long. I'll give you five minutes.”

When the squirrel exited the cheetah entered, making the atmosphere tense again.

“I heard you were already up.” He approached with a smug look on his face. “Guess I was right.”

Arthur put himself in the way, shielding his friend. “Enough is enough! What else do you want?! I won't let you do anything to him!”

“Who do you think I am? A serial killer? I'm here to get my price, now get lost,” he demanded, shoving the husky away. Rox caught him before he could hurt himself.

Ryuu glared. “You won. I understand that, but I won't justify meaningless violence towards others.” 

“Not my fault if you all wanna play heroes. I'm not a villain you know.”

“Just get straight to the point. Are you here to claim my silence?”

The cheetah froze in place as he stared at him. His expression was unreadable and no one could tell whether Ryuu was right or not until the silence was broken by a loud noise coming from Mark's stomach.

“Starting now, I want you to buy me food whenever I'm hungry!” He exclaimed, pointing his finger at him.

The tense atmosphere destroyed in a second as everyone blinked, extremely confused.

Ryuu couldn’t believe it. “I'm sorry…?” 

“What?! I won! I decide what I want!” He insisted. “If you don't help me you'll be kicked!”

The wolf, caught off guard, took a few dollars out of his jacket pocket. “Is this enough for now?”

Mark snatched the money. “Oh yes! Thank you very much!” He literally vanished. “See you later!”

“What just happened?” Ryuu blinked, stunned.


	6. Private matters

Arthur investigated Ryuu's body thoroughly: prodding and sniffing to observe each reaction. With a slight tinge of red decorating his muzzle, the wolf dodged the tongue inches away from his body, trying to pretend that the husky’s actions weren’t incredibly annoying and embarrassing. 

“Can you stop?”

Arthur huffed in frustration, attempting to remove his clothes to fully see whether his body had healed sufficiently for himself. “No, I need to be sure that you’re able to actually leave your bed! What if the nurse overlooked something?” 

The wolf pushed him away with a paw to the face. “I've been resting for three hours. School is over; we can go home. Do you want me to stay here all day or something?”

Arthur pointed at the panda currently staring at them in silence. “Nova, tell him that he must rest! He's probably thinking about attending afternoon clubs!”

“I mean, he knows better than any of us if he can go,” the panda replied nonchalantly. “As long as he doesn't do anything but sit in he should be fine.”

Ryuu had slept for about four hours, all the way past morning class. It was about two in the afternoon now, so clubs would have already started. Meanwhile, due to the lack of many teachers in the school, the other classes were being held for other students, as Arthur had informed him as they waited for Ryuu to awaken. 

“Whose side are you on?!” He retorted, clearly upset.

“I'm just saying what I think!”

Ryuu sighed. “I can't go even if I wanted to. I need to go home.”

Nova noticed the serious tone of the last sentence. It sounded as though there were to be consequences if something didn’t happen. “Why?”

“I need some time alone…” He continued, preparing his bag. “I'm sorry to do this twice, but I can't show you around.”

“It's fine!” The panda waved his paws in front of him. “We can check it out tomorrow!”

“If I weren't busy with my work today I would've done it for you,” the husky apologized even though no one asked him to.

“Arthur, it's not your job,” he reminded him. “You don't need to keep assisting me all the time.”

“But I want to!” He shouted, helping him stand from the bed.

“Sure, whatever.” Ryuu muttered as he slung his bag on his back. “See you tomorrow.”

Nova peeked over Arthur's shoulder in confusion. “Why is he upset now?”

He shrugged. “That's just his usual grumpy reaction; don't worry about it. Ryuu is the type of guy that wants to do everything by himself. As always, whenever I help too much he thinks that he's useless and instantly pushes everyone away.”

The panda nodded. “I can understand that.” 

“He's trying so hard not to show it,” the husky giggled. “But his defeat is totally affecting his mood.”

Nova glanced away with embarrassment, feeling as if he were one of the causes. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't say that. I was totally gonna jump in after you.” He picked up both bags, handing Nova’s to him. “Guess it's time to go home as well. Where do you live?”

“Uh, if I remember correctly, Bernard Street..?” The panda mused.

“Oh wait, is that the area beside the mall?” 

“I…think I saw one on the way here?”

“That's good. You're not really that far. You can either take a bus that brings you to the mall and walk home or pay some extra fees to go straight home by the school bus.”

“I can't really afford the last option though.” The panda tilted his head. “Tell me more about the bus. I think I'll wait for it.”

After getting their stuff, the duo walked outside. Shining brightly in the sky, the sun released it warm rays throughout the city. The cold breeze countered its warmth, and as a result, made a somewhat decent temperature to walk in. It was annoying at some points where, for a brief moment, it became colder while staying in the shadows or hotter when directly in the rays of the sun. Overall, Nova was content with the current weather. 

The pair continued on with Arthur giving him directions and the time schedule. They were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't notice the small meerkat shouting at them.

“So, uh… do I slide the card in the reader?” Nova questioned, seeing the gate open. “It's not necessary now, right?”

Arthur placed his card inside. “No, it's a must do every time you enter and exit. If you look down, there are sensors around the edges. If something goes through without being identified it triggers an alarm.”

The panda blinked. “Are you kidding me?”

“I'm not joking, it's true,” the husky insisted. “It may happen later or tomorrow since we have first years around, so I suggest you bring a headset to protect your ability to hear properly.” 

“That's the first time I've been asked to bring such a thing instead of actual school material.” he chuckled, moving to slide his card.

“Hey Nova, are you deaf or something?!” Melody yelled, sitting on top of the card reader. “I've been calling you since you left the building!”

“I'm sorry!” He screeched back, scared by her sudden appearance. “I didn't notice!”

“I'm wasting time here,” she cried, upset. “I have to work and I ain't got time to spare checking on you!”

“Uh?” Nova tilted his head. “Why did you need to do that? I'm fine?”

Melody sighed and face palmed. “Did you forget what we agreed on?”

“You mean the clothes?” He looked down, noticing his uniform. “Oh…”

“Go change,” she ordered. “I knew that you'd forget. Don't make me have to check on you everyday.”

Her expression soon shifted from impatience and annoyance to embarrassment when the panda started changing right on the spot. Arthur didn't mind and laughed, not giving a single care. 

“What on earth are you doing?!” The beet red meerkat erupted, immediately facing in the other direction. “You can't just change in front of us in the middle of the road!”

Nova glanced around at the empty street. “Why? There's no one here except you two.”

Arthur practically choked, red in the face as his laughter increased. 

“It doesn't fucking matter!” Her voice trembled. “Don't you dare continue! There’s a changing room next to the basketball court!”

“I can't believe it!” The husky commented after calming down. “The guy is basically afraid of his own shadow, yet doesn't care about undressing in public! That's amazing!”

Nova blinked, shrugging his jacket back on. “It's not like I'm doing it in front of a crowd…and I would've stayed in shorts anyway, so—”

“Stop, stop, stop, stop!” Melody jumped in his face and slapped him. It didn't hurt much but it was the thought that counted. “Keep it to yourself! I'm not interested!”

The panda scratched his cheek. “People are like that at the beach though. Why is this such a big deal here?”

“Oh my God…” Melody landed on her feet and picked up a wooden stick from the ground. “Get out of here, now!”

Melody whipped him on the butt, happy to hear his whimper of pain. With a glint of irritation and mischief in her gaze, the demonic meerkat chased the frightened panda away.

“Well… Uhhhh.” Arthur cupped his paws around his mouth in order to project his voice. “I'm going home! See you tomorrow!” He giggled, “Try not to get your ass beaten too much!”

“Ah, so you can run when you want to!” Melody taunted, swinging the tree branch around.

“Please stop! I'm gonna remember, promise!”

The meerkat halted, panting. “Wonder Phoenix students shouldn't be easily recognized for a reason. I don't wanna get in trouble because of you!”

“Okay…” He slouched with exhaustion, leaning over on his knees to breathe. “Okay, got it. Where's the changing room?”

She pointed the stick behind him. “If you turn around, you’ll see I brought you right to it.”

“Oh… Thanks.”

“I'm going back to my classroom.” She shivered, hugging her body. “Bleach, I need bleach. I must forget.”

Nova massaged his wounded ass, shedding small tears of suffering and relief. He slouched forward, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. While the panda recovered, he could hear people snickering and whispering on his left while he recovered.

“Did you see that? Melody whipped his ass! It was hilarious!”

“He’s alone. You know what that means?”

“Ryuu ditched him because he lost the JM.”

“You think he's still crying about it?”

“Absolutely.”

“I heard that he doesn't have the best relationship with his father. I hope the cut he gets won't cause too much trouble.”

When he glanced over, he could see Lori, Esmeralda and Fan sitting on the ground forming a lopsided triangle. They continued gossiping silently but loud enough for the panda to overhear. 

“Look, he's staring at us.”

“He's so embarrassing, getting stomped by Melody.”

“She's always so chill. I wonder what he did.”

“Don’t forget girls. Nova’s a boy after all, so he must've done something perverted like the rest of them...”

They all gasped in response.

“Did he do it to her?”

Nova, who was now a mixture of embarrassment and anger, trembled with a face void of white fur. Every bit of white fluff has been painted beet red. “I can hear you, you know…”

The girls burst out laughing seeing his reaction.

“Okay, okay…” The swan said, stopping their faux gossip from continuing. “We should stop before he literally pops like a balloon.”

“We're joking; don't worry about it,” the fox reassured. 

The monkey blinked. “What do you mean joking? I thought we were simply stating the truth.”

Fan punched her right arm. “Let's not push it too far now.”

Lori cried out in pain. “That doesn't mean you have to push it into my arm as well!”

“So…what are you guys doing here?” Nova asked, trying to shake off his overreaction as he stood. 

“Today we scheduled a training session mainly for our class, but, well…things happened.” The bird pointed behind her.

The basketball camp was mostly occupied by their classmates but a few students he’d never seen before were there as well. They weren’t what confused him though. In the center of the court weaving through her opponents was Natalie. The closer he looked, the more it seemed as though she were fighting alone.

“I'm not sure what caused it.” Esmeralda cocked her head, gray eyes rippling with curiosity. “She's usually like this. Even so, I feel like this is too much.”

“The Jungle Madness hurt her somehow,” Fan explained. “Nobody knows why, but that's what my gut is telling me.”

The monkey laughed. “I’d bet an arm and a leg that she must have some sort of relationship with Mark. I don't know if you guys noticed it, but I sure did.”

The swan shrugged, smoothing down the non-existent wrinkles in her shirt. “And now we're just chilling here, doing nothing. I don't mind resting a bit under the sun; I love the warmth.”

“Boring,” Lori instantly argued back. “I wanted to do something else…” She took the mouse from her head, checking if she was still asleep, cuddled her close to her cheek for a bit before setting her back atop her head. 

The beaver jumped around, dodging and pushing away Rox's attacks with her tail. It was a very unique fighting style. She needed to make up for the gap in size even though, to Nova, the difference wasn’t much. The ground trembled as a big elephant approached her from behind, but she reacted instantly, deflecting the punch he tried to land. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he left the area.

Natalie was extremely dependent on her tail though; both her offensive and defensive movements heavily relied on her agility to swing the appendage fast enough to strike her opponent or defend herself. Her hands and feet were more focused on moving and propelling her body in order for the tail to have full freedom, giving her more control of the fight.

The clash between the two lasted for a few minutes. The crocodile moved away to give her time to breathe.

“What are you doing?” She panted, swiping a hand through the stream of sweat on her forehead. “I told you to go all out! This isn't enough for me. If you don't take me seriously how do you expect me to improve?”

Rox crossed his arms, his golden eyes boring straight into angry, brown ones. “Change your attitude first.”

For most people it was a simple sentence that wouldn’t have much meaning. In spite of that, Nova could tell it struck deep by the way she bristled like an irritated cat. 

“Are you trying to piss me off?!” She yelled. “That doesn't make any fucking sense!” 

The beaver looked up, glaring at the cat hanging on top of the roof of the change rooms. From the distance, he couldn’t get a good reference as to how tall the sphinx was. However, the panda could see glimpses of pink skin, not fur, when his clothing rose from where he was hanging. The jewelry the animal wore glittered in the sun, but he wore goggles so Nova assumed it didn’t really matter. 

“Shoot at me!”

The sphinx sighed, annoyed. “Listen Nat, I don't use my arrows in training. What if I end up hurting you? In a Jungle Madness we have contracts, but not here.”

“Ruben, just fucking shoot me!” She insisted. “You think I can't take it?!”

“God, what is up with you today…” He rolled his eyes. “I don't want to. Give it up.”

“Why?! You do that with Mister Black Bastard over there and the giant baby crying behind the wall!”

“I have my own reasons that I don't need to share with you,” he replied blatantly, pulling an apple out of his jacket to munch on.

“No you don't. That idiot probably told you some shit and now you're acting like a pussy.”

“Natalie, you're getting on my nerves. I'm not like your classmates. I have no patience towards brats such as yourself.”

Her answer took the form of a rock she tossed at him. It hit the apple, causing it to tumble down to the ground. “You son of a—! You're going to buy me a new one now!”

“You want the apple? Poor kitty.. He's hungry and needs food…” She taunted with a fake worried tone. “Fight me like a man, maybe I'll consider it.”

Ruben stood up, holding his bow tightly. He aimed at her. “I don't care what Rox says. I'm going to put you back in your place.”

Natalie smirked knowing her taunts were successful. On the other hand, her triumph distracted her from dodging the first arrow that almost hit her. She felt it skim her face. There wasn't time to think and process what was happening as Ruben continued to shoot several arrows one after another. His movements were fluid and fast, not giving her any time to go on the offense.

The beaver jumped back, avoiding all the missed arrows lodged in the ground. It was easy for her to move away so long as he didn’t shoot more than one at a time.

It became a challenge once Ruben realized that he needed to increase his fire rate to put her in a rough situation.

Natalie was forced to use her tail as a shield to avoid getting stabbed. The sharp edge of the arrow scratched her several times.

“Stop,” Rox ordered, seeing Natalie clearly in trouble.

“No! That's what I wanted!” She opposed, taking the wounds without a single complaint. 

Ruben wanted to teach her a lesson. She didn't listen to him, so he wouldn't give her what she was looking for.

The look in his eyes sharpened as he strung his last arrow. “Take this..!”

Natalie knew that he wasn't holding back and she liked it. He aimed directly at her tail with the objective of incapacitating the core source of her power.

The cat wasn't the only one with a trump card ready to unleash. She jumped towards the arrow and blocked it with her tail. Surprisingly for the beaver, the arrow didn't seem willing to give up. The strength injected into it showed just how far Ruben wanted to go.

Despite this, Natalie insisted and fought back against the persistent arrow as her tail slowly grew darker in color. The final clash between the two created an unpleasant metallic sound making her lose focus and fell to the ground. The arrow, weakened after the impact slid off on the side and kept going forward on the three girls chilling on the ground. 

“Watch out!” Nova yelled to Esmeralda. Worried she may not react in time, the panda instinctively threw his backpack towards the arrow. He mourned it a few moments later as the weapon pierced through the bag.

Ruben dropped down from his position and ran past the beaver to reach them . “Are you all alright?! I'm sorry, it's my fault.”

“Luckily for you, we are,” Lori said, picking up the pierced bag. “This one won't make it though.”

“Oh no! It wasn't even my bag!” Nova cried out. He took it from the monkey's hands and checked inside. “My jacket is ruined as well…”

“I think Ruben should make amends for it,” Fan compromised. “That's the least you can do. Repair the damage you've created.”

The swan nodded in agreement. “Sounds fair to me. I'll help you as well since you protected me. It's my way of thanking you.”

Nova didn't want to think about Melody beating him up again after telling her what happened. “Could you talk to Melody in my place then?” He shivered, feeling a chill run down his spine. “I don't think I can face her now.”

“I don't have a good relationship with her,” the cat admitted. “I'll leave that to you, Es.”

Natalie, after staring at them, grabbed her tail and touched it. The feeling was unexpected even for her.

“If you really want to master that…” Rox resumed as he stood behind her. “Change your attitude.”

“I have nothing to change.” She glared at him. “You say that, know-it-all, but you're the first one who should heed your own advice. Let me know when you actually do something instead of watching from your safe tower.”

The crocodile said nothing, making the beaver angrier.

“If we lose Oli it's because you didn't manage to do your job as a guardian, Rox.” She turned away, heading towards the showers. “Don't you ever fucking forget that.”

The elephant, who listened the entire thing, felt like he had to say something after being mentioned but Rox stopped him, raising his arm to halt him. “Are you sure?”

“Let her think,” he asserted. “We all have our faults.”

The elephant glanced over to the others currently surrounding Nova. The mal student still wasn’t over the loss of his bag. The taunts from his friends didn't help either. “Does he know?”

“No one wants to bring up the topic,” he replied, looking as neutral as he could be. “They're not over it.”

“I see…” Olie scratched his cheek with his proboscis. “Maybe it's better if he doesn't know yet. I heard that a lot of stuff is going on inside your class.”

Rox remained still, but angry golden eyes quickly flickered towards the elephant’s direction. “Our class.”

“Ah! Yes, of course! I'm sorry! I just…”

The crocodile turned away. “I'll get you back Oli. No. Matter. What.”

Nova’s situation brightened if only for a moment. Esmeralda handed over another bag. “Let's put your stuff in here for today. Ruben and I will fix your jacket by tomorrow.”

The cat wanted to say something about the bag but Nova interrupted him. “I can't leave the school with the uniform!”

“Oh yeah, you're right.” She quickly pulled out the damaged jacket. “Guess you'll have to walk home with this then. Tomorrow you'll give it to me.”

Nova took it and stared at the holes, blushing. “Everyone will stare at me with this on…”

Lori patted his back. “It doesn't seem so bad! It's a new style; you know nothing about fashion,” she laughed.

“Okay, wait a second!” The sphinx pushed everyone out of the way. “That's my bag! Where do I put my arrows and the bow if you take it away?!”

The swan’s gentle smile hid a veil of anger. “You broke his bag, so you oh-so-kindly gave him yours. Your arrows can manage staying at school for one day.”

“But—”

“Did you say something?” A sudden dark aura surrounded Esmeralda, scaring everyone away, Ruben included.

The cat raised his hands as he shuffled backwards, showing he meant no harm.“N-Nothing ma'am.” 

“Essy is extremely sweet and quiet, but never get her angry. If you do, run,” the fox whispered to Nova.

“That's a dangerous woman,” Lori finished, whispering in his other ear.

“Guys, look, the others are gone!” The swan pointed at the now empty basketball court. “Where did they go?”

“They probably ran away when you—”

Fan covered Lori's mouth, preventing her from finishing the sentence. “That's good! That means it's our turn to train a little. I wanted to show you a few things.”

“I guess I'll go…?” Nova tried to say goodbye, but they all parted ways and he felt awkward raising his voice.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Locked inside the school felt like an eternity had passed. It didn't seem real now that he was free, walking down the road, alone, without anyone around. Nova stared at the holes in his jacket, thinking of what he could say to his mother. Mentioning arrows would cause more trouble, creating a useless discussion.

The panda took the phone from his trousers, noticing he had completely forgotten about it the entire time he was at school. It felt weird; the moment Nova left his hometown, he’d glued to his cellphone.

He opened Cody's chat and typed, “Hey, I'm finally out. You won't believe the amount of stuff that happened in just one day. We need to call. I'm seriously not gonna type all of it.”

It didn't take long for his friend to reply. “I'm still at school. A boring day as usual, so I was playing a game to waste some time.”

Nova laughed, “Still playing that fighting game?”

“Of course I am!” He replied back. “It's my favorite game! Don't you dare talk shit about it.”

The panda smirked, ready to to tease his friend more but quickly refrained as the conversation turned in an unexpected direction. 

“Listen, a lioness came here a few hours ago.”

Nova’s eyes widened. He suspected as much but still couldn't believe it.

“I wanted to get home and call you as well because I do have a few things to tell you. They're important. We can't just chat.”

“God… when you call it's usually important.”

“I'll call you after dinner. Try to be inside your house, alone. It's better if you're the only one who knows this.”

“Okay,” Nova quickly answered, switching the chat app with a map of the area. He looked around and turned left, heading towards the supermarket as Arthur had instructed.

The area was crowded with lots of animals entering and exiting the building. Birds had special windows that worked as doors to decrease the queue. In this mess he didn't have to be worried about people staring at him; there was too much chaos to even notice a nobody such as himself. 

He made his way through the people and walked behind the mall where several bus stops were located. It was way more organized than his hometown and super noisy because of all the people talking to one another.

Nova checked the numbers on top of all the areas until he spotted the one Arthur told him to take. He was still missing a ticket though.

He dug inside his pockets, glad to always have change. Waiting for his dad to actually pick him up meant waiting until the late evening.

“Hello, may I buy a bus ticket please?” He asked to the tiger smoking on the other side of the glass.

“One dollar,” he coldly replied, showing just how interested and enthused he was to be there. Another trail of smoke escaped his lips. 

Nova hurried to finish the transaction. He didn't like the smell of smoke or the guy's attitude. “Thank you.”

The panda sat down, merging with the small crowd waiting for the same bus. There was nothing to do, so Nova plugged in his headphones and listened to some music. It was relaxing, getting the chance to isolate himself and dive into his own little world.

He felt slightly upset when the bus arrived. It wasn't empty, meaning that he wouldn't be able to sit just anywhere. He wanted to enjoy his safe space for a little bit longer. A small grimace appeared on his face as he walked inside. In moments like this he would've preferred to wait for his dad, but it wasn't worth it and his laziness needed to shut up.

The panda walked further into the bus as it started to leave the station. He freaked out but managed to keep his panicking on the down-low.

His jacket stood out at first.Nova thought it was a coincidence, but when he double checked and saw the yellow fur with black dots there were no more doubts.

Both he and Mark were in the same bus. He was sitting with his back to Nova. He was relieved that the cheetah didn't notice him. The panda quickly made his way back to where he was before, hiding in the crowd. For now that meant safety. 

Thinking back, Nova hadn't seen him at the station. Since he's sitting, it most likely meant that he took this bus before he boarded. The panda slapped his face gently as he tried to push those thoughts away. He didn't need to know or overthink this. He only needed to get home unnoticed, thus escaping any possibility of an awkward meeting. 

“The next stop, S.S. Hospital, has been called,” a registered voice announced through speakers on the sides. “The bus will stop at the closest area.”

Nova was trying so hard to mix with the people inside that he kept staring at the cheetah through small gaps made between the people he used as a shield. Unexpectedly, the cheetah and the cheetah pressed the button to stop above his seat.

He probably lived around there, nothing to worry about. The panda needed to look on the bright side. Mark was getting out and he hadn't spotted him yet! He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, but there was nothing he could do. 

He watched in silence as the cheetah exited, doors closing as he kept staring at him until Mark vanished from his sight.

The panda checked the direction his bus was taking. His street was among the last destinations before the bus headed back to the mall. The danger was gone, things soon quieted down and the music he was listening to this entire time regained priority over him. He closed his eyes and relaxed, hoping to not deal with anything else for the day.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Nova's first day was now considered over. He caught a glimpse of his new house from the sidewalk. He pushed himself further and increased his pace. After such a tiring day he only wished to rest and lay on his soft bed.

He scraped the dirt from his feet and rang the doorbell to receive no answer from the other side. 

“Mom? It's me!” The panda tried again. “You there?”

He sighed, knowing that his efforts until now have been wasted. No one was home and he didn't have the keys. Nova was stuck outside and was forced to call Mom, the one that should've been home. He dialed her number saved inside his phone's contacts and waited while it rang.

“Hello?” She greeted, picking up the call.

“Mom, where are you?” He asked, trying to sound casual but the tone of his voice gave away his exhaustion and irritation.

“Oh! You're already home?” She realized. “I'm sorry... I needed to go to the mall. I noticed that I didn't have anything for tonight's dinner and, you know, I feel like we deserve something special.”

“Are you coming back or not?” He questioned, showing no interest whatsoever in her things.

“Well…” She mumbled. “The thing is…I just arrived…”

“No, please…” He replied on the verge of tears.

“It's okay! You won't have to stay outside and wait for me. I thought this out perfectly and I left you a spare key inside one of the plants!” She explained.

Nova raised a brow. “Why would you put one inside the plants? We have a mailbox or, even better, a carpet.”

“Yeah, those places would've worked out too, but I always take care of the plants outside. It's less suspicious!”

He tried to understand, he really did try, but he couldn't wrap his brain around the nonsense. “Alright, I'll just go get them then. See you later.”

“Later sweetie.”

The panda was just annoyed at having to dig inside the dirt to get the key, and only then did he realize that she didn't tell him which one was the correct vase. He took a deep sigh, not in the mood to call her twice and stuffed his paw in all of them, attempting not to ruin his mother's work.

Luckily for him, the key popped out after the third try, sparing the other vases. “Ah… yeah, I need to ask her if I can keep it,” he mumbled to himself as he unlocked the door.

He wasn't really in the mood to wash his paws. He was super tired, so taking a nap became his top priority. However, the dirt on his hand was just too much! As a result, he was forced to take a detour.

The panda dropped the bag at the entrance and was slightly surprised by the huge thump it made when it landed. It was supposed to contain only his uniforms and nothing else… He didn't care enough to check inside though. He washed his paws, took the bag and went upstairs. His bed felt like an oasis for a traveler in the desert. It was a blessing that no one could take away from him.

The soft texture embraced him in a big hug. Ah, the gift of a brand new mattress. A smile covered his features as he released all the stress and anxiety he carried the entire day.

It was stronger than him. He couldn't fully let himself go and even if he was feeling better thoughts about his old class clashed against the new ones, everything mixed in a flow of weird ideas. He swinged back and forth from the past, the one he missed, and the present.

He stared at the ceiling, watching the movie of his life he looked again and the things he did until his mind bumped on Mark. The cheetah dropped at the hospital. He wanted to know if he lived there after all or not.

The panda slowly raised his phone. Two hours passed from the moment he left school. He wanted to ask but forgot to share contacts with everyone. His ears twitched, hearing weird sounds around him.

“Mom? You back?” He asked. His words bumped on the walls, echoing inside the empty house.

Nova raised his torso up, confused. He was so sure he heard something until it repeated but quieter, like someone's breathing almost a whisper. “Hmm?”

The panda looked around, trying to identify where it was coming from. The thought of being his bag didn't cross his mind until he saw it moving, just a little but it did.

Nova didn't hesitate and emptied his bag, flipping it upside down. His uniform fell out followed by a sloth.

“What? How? Why?” The panda mumbled, disoriented.

The sloth didn't say anything. He curled into a ball using his clothes as a mattress and resumed sleeping.

“Hey!” Nova lifted him by grabbing the back of his neck. His skin and fur were soft and elastic so it didn't hurt him at all. He didn't mind and continued his nap. 

“I'm talking to you! Please don't ignore me! What were you doing in my bag?”

He inspected him further and realized that he wasn't just some random sloth. It was the guy sleeping with the teacher, one of his classmates. “So…like, is anyone aware of where you are right now? If you don't talk I won't be able to call your parents and—”

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting him. He dropped the little guy on his bed. “Stay there. I'll check who's at the door.” 

The sloth slowly moved under the sheets as he left the room.

“I'm coming, I'm coming!” He yelled, hearing a constant knocking. “I heard you!”

The panda widened his eyes, surprised to see Natalie outside. She was wearing a helmet and a skateboard strapped to her back. “Ah… Hello Nat, are you here to get him?”

The beaver raised a brow. “I don't know what you're talking about and I don't care. I'm here to give you something you forgot.”

She opened her paw and showed a handmade insignia of the school carved out of wood. “Oh wow, that's super cool.”

“You left so fast that after I showered I didn't get the chance to hand this over to you.” She pointed at him with her sharp nails. “This thing is important. Be sure to always have it on you at all times. It's another safety provision, like, an extra identification tool when something happens. It's to prevent hacking. Technology is useful, but if the worst happens we have to use other means.”

“Did you make it?”

“Of course I did! You gotta problem with that?”

“No, I think that it's amazing.” He smiled.

She quieted down and avoided staring too long at his happy expression. “Thanks…” She mumbled. “I gotta go now! Bye.”

“No! Wait!” He stepped outside. “I need help!”

“What do you want?” She pushed his paw away from her shoulder. “Get off me.”

“Someone put a sloth in my bag and I don't know what to do!” He yelled.

“...What?” She thought about it for a few moments. “You mean Jamie?”

She instantly headed inside as the matter made her curious. “He's in my room. Go through the stairs. It's the second door,” he stated, following her.

The beaver chuckled. “You weren't kidding. You have a sloth in your bed who seems to be enjoying himself.”

“I didn't put him under the sheets!” He pointed out. “He wasn't just sleeping!”

“You've never dealt with a sloth before, am I right?” She asked, pulling her phone out. “They're constantly aware in a state of half-sleep.”

“Then how do they do things? I mean eating, studying and stuff…”

“They can...just…not for the entire day like us. They usually have a few hours of activity everyday and they need to choose wisely when it's best to wake up.” She typed a few messages. “I think they have caretakers as well, not sure though. Never went to his house.”

“So…can you bring him back to his home?” He inquired.

“I'm working on it!” She shouted, annoyed by his constant harassing. “I sent a message to the class group. Seems like Lori is the one to blame judging from the laughter she wrote.”

Nova slowly peeked at her phone causing her to move away. “God, stop breathing on me. Settle down for a second…”

The panda gave up and sat on the bed next to Jamie.

“Ugh…seriously? Fuck this.” She muttered as Natalie kept typing. “I have things to do as well. This is such a pain in the ass.”

Nova stared in silence even if it was obvious that he wanted to talk by the look on his face.

“Okay, no. I'm not doing this alone.” She pocketed her phone. “You. Listen. I'll drive Jamie home tonight after dinner, which means we're eating together.”

“Huh?!” The panda rose from the bed like a spring. “I can't just show myself at the table with two more people! I don't have the time to warn them about it. They will surely say no!”

“Listen, I don't like this either but I'm not going to carry a sloth on my back because Lori fucked you over.” 

“Well just add me to the group and I'll talk it out with everyone!”

“That's not how it works,” she sighed, not in the mood to be a teacher. “We're not using our numbers and we're chatting through the JM application. I'm sure that you, just like the first years, aren't registered yet so I can't add you.”

“Why are you all doing so many extra and unnecessary things?” He asked, frustrated.

“Don't ask me.” She shrugged. “Last year nothing crazy happened yet we’re still using extra precautions. It's insane.”

“I need to call Mom again…” Nova sighed, drained yet again by this mess. “I just wanted to go to sleep.”

“If you don't want me here ask her if she can drive us to my house. My dad is busy with the construction and he won't be free until dinner.”

“Hey… Uh…” Nova asked, out of curiosity, while his phone was ringing. “Do you happen to know where the others live?”

“Kinda? I haven't visited everyone but I've been around, so yeah.”

“Do…you know where Mark lives?”

“Out of all our classmates, you wanna know where he lives?”

“I mean, I wasn't planning to go to his house. I just wanted to know if he lives near the hospital since it was bothering me.”

“No. He doesn't live there,” she said. “His house it's, like, a lot further. You need to walk all the way down this road and move towards the station. I'm pretty sure it's between the last stop and the one before.”

“I saw him heading there. We were in the same bus.”

The room went silent as the two stared at each other. Natalie's face showed a reaction he wasn't expecting to see and it communicated him that something was indeed wrong and his hunch correct.

“Hello?” Isabelle answered, breaking the silence. “Sorry I didn't hear the ringing, it's super noisy here.”

Natalie didn't say a word and rushed outside.

“Natalie, wait!” Nova ran after her.

“Uhhhh, Natalie?” She repeated. “You're already at stage two? I'm almost done here so you two better wrap it up!”

Nova yelled upset. “That's not funny Mom! Something came up so buy some extra food; we have two guests tonight!”

“Really?! My son inviting friends over… I'm so proud,” she exclaimed, and he could practically see the tears glistening in her eyes.

The panda rolled his eyes and closed the call. “Yeah sure. Bye.”

He caught a glimpse of her as she placed the skateboard on the ground and propelled herself forward. Nova wanted to chase her but couldn't leave the sloth alone. He climbed back inside his room, lifted Jamie up and finally rushed after the beaver.

Nova was slow compared to her. His feet soon gave up from fatigue. She was comfortably moving on top of the skateboard and no matter how many times he called she didn't stop.

“This is not your problem Nova!” She yelled her voice slightly unstable. “You're a nobody. You just arrived. Get lost and wait for me to come back.” 

Those words paralyzed him. She was right. He didn't have to be concerned, it wasn't his place to dive into their matters. Her figure became smaller and smaller as he stood there, looking at it full of hesitation.

The sloth slowly embraced him with his long arms around his neck. He wasn't necessarily trying to say something, probably just looking for a more comfortable position.

“It's true that it's not my problem…” Nova said, talking out loud. He hoped that Jamie was somehow listening though. “But I saw a lot of the pain that everyone is trying to hide, and I know how it feels to bottle things inside. I thought I was the only one, that no one could understand how I felt. I wanna be there, okay? You don't get to decide what I can and can't do.”

The panda picked the sloth up again and lowered him down to the sidewalk. “When it's about talking I never know if what I say is actually good or makes things worse. Maybe I'm just being selfish right now.”

He pulled out his claws, surprised by the fact that he used them twice in the same day after years of hiding. 

“I have a weird body Jamie. I can't run normally otherwise I'll get super tired.” He flipped upside down, holding himself in the air with his paws stuck in the ground. Basically, he was in the position for a handstand. “But like this I actually move faster and don't tire easily.”

He tried to bend his body to get the sloth on his feet but he ended up just waving. He wasn't really as elastic as he looked. “Ugh… that's super awkward. I need you to grab on to me. I can't do it by myself…”

The sloth didn't react much but at least he raised his arm. Nova extended his leg enough to get him on. He threw him in the air, and moved after him making him land on top of his foot. “Alright… I did it. Way to complicate things am I right?”

In the meantime, all the people around were staring, embarrassing him. He blushed and ran away, hoping that the feeling would go away as he reached Natalie.

“Natalie!” He yelled as soon as he saw her.

“God, you're so persistent,” she groaned before turning towards him. “Okay, that's the weirdest shit I've seen in a while.” The beaver commented, hiding that it truly creeped her out, feeling as if a monster was going after her. What type of beast used two parts of their body to run at top speed instead of four?! Furthermore, why was he running on his arms? What happened to his legs? 

“Please stop and talk to me,” he begged, matching her speed.

The beaver puffed her cheeks. She was trying to outrun him but he was adapting perfectly to stay right next to her. “Can you stop and go away!?”

“No!” He argued. “If there's something wrong and my friends need help I don't turn a blind eye!”

“We are not friends!” She screamed. “We met basically yesterday! We know nothing about each other!”

“You wanna know more about me?”

“That's not the damn point.”

“Well…people can be friends even if they don't know their private things.”

Natalie ended up staring at him and spotted Jamie laying between his legs. Combined with the sweat dripping from his pores, her disgust increased. “Please stop chasing after me and walk like a normal person.”

“I can't! This is the only way I can keep up with you.”

“Okay, alright fine. Your words really caught my heart and I changed my mind.” She decreased her speed. “See? Let's walk there normally and have a genuine discussion.”

“Oh…okay.” Nova didn’t follow... Maybe she really did understand his feelings.

Natalie instantly felt better when he stood on his two legs. “I'll have nightmares about this…” She whispered while putting away her skateboard.

“Did you say something?” He questioned, seeing her mumbling to herself.

“Yes!” She walked closer. “Give me one reason I should allow for you to come along.”

“Even before I thought that he wasn't going to be friendly I wanted to avoid him. At first, I preferred to stay away, but that Jungle Madness was painful to watch. I saw a lot of pain in everyone…” He sighed. “I saw something even weirder in his eyes. He was having fun. It didn't matter that he was hurt, that everyone else was hurting. He was chilling in that sickening situation and acted in the worst way possible, like, he wanted to be hated and it was okay for him. Was it a self inflicted punishment? Is he really finding pleasure in damaging himself and the people around him? I want to know. I want to see if there's something I can do.”

“Did you see all that in just one day?” Natalie asked in a tone that somehow conveyed her agreement. “The others can keep on smiling even if bad stuff happens.” She turned away. “I can't. I know that no one moved on; nothing has changed and this shit is still the same, yet I just can't find a reason to put on a facade. I don't wanna pretend to feel better.”

Nova smiled as he picked her up. The beaver, caught off guard, struggled until he placed her on his shoulder. “What are you doing now?” She said, pulling his cheek.

“I thought you could rest a bit,” he mused in a weird voice because of her. “You looked like you needed to catch a break.”

The beaver dropped his cheek and glanced down.

“Breathing...it's an automatic process and we never take the time to actually do it properly,”  
he continued, taking as much air as he could just to push it all out a few seconds later. “You know, just take it easy. Stop pushing yourself.”

“I'm not doing that.” She narrowed her eyes. “Just walk towards the hospital.”

“Alright, fine.” He shrugged. “At least I tried.”

While Nova walked she tried to do it as quiet as possible without him noticing, but the panda was literally carrying her so it was impossible for him to ignore. He moved only his eyes towards her but it was enough for her to spot him. She instantly stopped and turned away from him, causing him to smile again.

“We’ve arrived,” the panda announced, sensing her lack of attention.

“Yeah… I know,” the beaver replied with a tired sigh. “I'll do the talking since you sure as hell can’t do it.”

“Thanks.”

The three waited in line where a small queue had formed. Nova glanced around and saw a lot of movement and chaos. The staff was working really hard rushing in and out of the rooms. The hospital in its entirety was huge, almost like a skyscraper (though he could only see a small glimpse of it from his current position). It surprised him how energetic the staff were.

“Hello! Welcome to the Saint Simone Hospital!” A tigress greeted. “My name is Marina. How may I help you?” 

The nurse continued repeating that whenever a new animal approached and Nova started to zone out just when their turn arrived. Natalie pinched his cheek again. “It's for us. Move Sleeping Beauty!”

“Ouch, sorry!”

“Good evening,” the beaver spoke from his shoulder. “We're here to visit an old friend. Can we know where Juliet the cheetah is?”

Nova didn't have a clue as to who that was or why she asked that but couldn't ask in front of the nurse.

“One second please,” the tigress answered while she typed the name Natalie pronounced. “Third floor, door number fifty-two. Visiting time is almost over so I kindly ask you to hurry.”

“Thank you,” Natalie finished, giving a small hit on Nova's back to make him move.

The panda waited until they were far enough from the receptionist to ask his question. “Juliet? Who's that?”

“I tried to imagine a reason for Mark to be here. I don't know anything either. I can lie you know,” she said. “I'll tell you what I know after we get there.”

“Forty-nine… Fifty…” Nova read aloud. “Okay, we're here.” He knocked softly. A few moments passed with no answer. “Should I knock again? Maybe she's sleeping.”

Natalie dropped from his shoulder, opened the door herself, and walked inside. The panda was unsure of what to do. Walking in unannounced was considered to be rude! Nevertheless, he reluctantly followed her after a moment of indecision.

He saw a young cheetah laying on a bed. She was attached to several cables and machines that clearly highlighted the fact she wouldn't be able to survive without them. “Fuck…” He didn't know what to say, feeling speechless in front of such an image. The young cheetah was literally skin and bones.

Natalie moved closer to her and caressed her arm. “This is awful. I can't believe I'm seeing you again like this…”

“Is she related to Mark?” He asked, but a part of him already knew.

“She's Mark younger sister,” she confirmed. “Me and Mark attended the same middle school before Wonder Phoenix. I have been to his house several times and met his family before that tragic day. No one knows this so please, both of you, don't let the others learn about this.”

Nova's expression softened as he heard her voice cracking, clutching the sheets tightly with frustration. “It's alright. I won't say anything.”

“Could you…wait outside? I need a few moments alone here in this room.”

“Natalie, wait, I—”

“Yes, yes I know!” She raised her head at him, tears welling in chocolate brown eyes. “You wanna know what happened and I'll tell you. Just get the fuck out of here for a minute!”

Nova rushed over to her and hugged the beaver. “It's not a weakness if you cry in front of us,” he soothed. “She was a friend of yours too, right? It's okay to feel this way.”

The beaver blew up as she screamed, cried and sobbed as hard as she could manage. She rubbed her face on Nova's chest trying to get all the help she could get. “That bastard lied to me! That's not fair! That's not fucking fair!”

A nurse walked inside after hearing those screams. “Is everything alright in here?” She saw the beaver completely soaked in tears and then looked at the ill patient to have a better understanding of what was happening.

“It's fine,” Natalie sobbed, exhausted. She had no more tears left to cry. “We're leaving now.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. “That girl has been here for a whole year and hasn't woken from her coma ever since. I know how hard it is.”

“Yes, I know. Thanks.” She hurried an answer before leaving the room.

“Please excuse us,” Nova apologized. “Have a good evening.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you're interested in knowing more check my Patreon! 
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/Mateko
> 
> Also, if you wanna talk with me I'm mostly active on Amino (Furry Amino of course.) See you soon with the next chapter!


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